


Flightless Birds Flock Together

by CynicalGhostie (CynicalGamer)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Light Angst, Multi, Multiple Endings, Reader Used to go to Aoba Johsai, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-12-19 05:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 83,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11890713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalGamer/pseuds/CynicalGhostie
Summary: You wouldn’t have been first to say Volleyball was in your veins, but anyone who saw you on the court would insist it was true. All throughout Junior High you played and played; You just enjoyed the feel of the court beneath your feet, the rush of your team successfully earning points.You looked forward to a Highschool life of much the same.Until you had to stop playing Volleyball halfway through your first year.(Implied female reader, but presented more gender neutral)[AKA you were on a girl's team, but everyone refers to you with They/Them]





	1. Welcome to Karasuno

**Author's Note:**

> Okie dokie, so a bit of a disclaimer!  
> I'm fairly new to the fandom and only know the first 2 seasons on the anime ;v;  
> Which means I'm going to be pretty shaky on certain character writing and also am unaware of Manga shenanigans, so I do apologize for any gaps like that!
> 
> Secondly: I'm going to mostly write this reader-insert with a bit of a story in mind, rather than just rushing off to the pairings, but there will be multiple and I'm thinking?? Multiple endings?? So if there's a particular character you'd want, feel free to just, hint at that ahaha
> 
> And lastly: If you look at my account you'll notice I have a track record of abandoning stories. I can't promise I'll be motivated enough to finish this but!!! I've written chapters in advanced and I just hope that you guys enjoy it for however long it goes on :' D

It wasn’t like you were an outgoing person. In fact, you were quite shy for most of your life. It was just… that being on the court, facing an opposition that you struggled against but knew you could defeat… something about it filled your heart with confidence. New people still intimidated you, and uncertain situations, too, but through the years you grew stronger yourself.

And now… now that was over.

And you were afraid.

“Honey, you’re going to be late!” Your mother called from downstairs.

“Late? Late to being early?” You rephrased, standing in front of your full length mirror. The uniform felt… loose. You were sure it wasn’t, just that it was something you had to grow into. Yeesh, how metaphorically cheesy could you manage to get?

“Just--- come on!” Her voice called to you again. With a roll of your eyes, you reached for your backpack and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen. Your mother was waiting for you, a small bento box clutched in her hands. “A good first day starts with a good meal!”

“Lunch isn’t exactly the start of the day…” You teased back, gently retrieving the food from her. The pattern was polka dots, pretty adorable if you had to be honest. “But thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” She reached forward to ruffle your hair slightly. You jokingly batted the hand away. “It’s a whole new school and I know how nervous you got the last time…”

“You don’t have to remind me. I think I nearly threw up just entering the gates.” Your voice was quiet, but your mother was quick to pick up on your words. She obviously was way more adjusted to your speech habits than anyone else. That being said they were subject to change rather often, especially after everything recently. “But I’ll be fine! Just have to power through the first day, right?”

“Mhm. So you do just that, okay? I’ll be home late tonight but I expect to hear all about it when I can. Have a good day!”

“You got it!” With an over dramatic thumbs up, you collected the rest of your things and headed out the door. The brisk air hit you suddenly, and you exhaled visibly. Everything was quiet. You certainly appreciated that, all things considered. There was no need for you to get too riled up before even getting there…

“I… I’m going to be fine.” You said to yourself under your breath. Your anxiety wasn’t the worst, really, but recently it had gotten kind of bad. Still, you were convinced your determination would win out in the end.

After everything that happened at your old school, you talked it over with your mother and managed to transfer for your second year. It was a big decision, but you felt like you made the right call in the end. There was something really uplifting about being somewhere no one knew you. However that just meant it was all the more terrifying as well.

One foot in front of the other, you had to remind yourself. This wasn’t something that’d matter too much in the long run, you just had to survive, right? Talk to some people, make friends, pass your classes, and survive.

It wasn’t all that long until you arrived at your new school: Karasuno.

A sigh of relief left you as you found yourself not too badly intimidated by the building itself. A good start. The grounds were mostly empty, it was still incredibly early to be arriving, but you had a tour scheduled and definitely wanted to know your way around better before classes started.

 

* * *

“Good morning! I’m Ittetsu Takeda, I’ll be showing you around the school today!” Takeda greeted you warmly after you arrived at the faculty office. You smiled in return, offering a small bow.

“Good morning! Thank you for showing me around.” You tried to be as polite as possible, but your voice definitely cracked there. The teacher seemed to not notice, however. Or at the very least he was kind enough not to react.

The tour was rather… in-depth. Or perhaps lengthy was the right term? Regardless it felt like it dragged on forever, despite so little time passing. Takeda-sensei had a lot to say about each location, but most notably, when the two of you stopped near the Volleyball gym.

“And here’s the second gymnasium! You’ll actually find me here a lot in the next week or so.” Everything out of his mouth came across chirpy and full of enthusiasm. It’d almost be exhausting if it weren’t actually charming. He seemed like a teacher who really cares.

“Really? N-no offense, but you don’t seem like the type to hang around the sports teams a lot…” That second part was muttered. Takeda let out a half-hearted laugh.

“I’m the faculty advisor for the Boy’s Volleyball club.” He quickly explained. You turned your head and looked towards the gymnasium, mouth slightly open. “They’re a really great group of kids, I just hope this year we get some great first-years this time around, too!”

Your heart briefly hurt just at the mention of the sport.

 

_“_ _Hey… isn’t that them?”_

_“Who? Oh, them?”_

_You could feel their eyes on you as you walked through the hall._

_“Yeah, they had to quit the Volleyball team, right?”_

_“After they were doing so well, too, huh? That really blows…”_

 

“Are you alright?” Takeda furrowed his brows with concern.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, sorry, Sensei, just… a little spaced out. Still not fully awake.” You supplied a nervous laugh to really sell the lie, but you thought there may have been a part of him that realized what you were doing.

“It’s no problem at all! We only have a little bit more to go, let’s keep going.”

“Right!”

The rest of the tour went on without much to note. Standard areas for a relatively standard Highschool. It was just nice to know your way around finally. At the end, Takeda showed you to your classroom. You were a second year now, and having come from a private school, you were actually placed in an advanced class: Class 4. Little did you know, that’d be your start for something wholly new. A fate chance to meeting people filled with the potential to change your life.

Or perhaps, you were just being cheesy again. You had a bit of a habit of doing that. Only in the safety of your own head, of course.

 

* * *

 

As class began, you found yourself growing increasingly nervous. You were absolutely 100% surrounded by strangers. Idiot, of course you knew that was going to happen… but it didn’t make the reality any less painful to face. As time drew on, it was soon your turn to introduce yourself to the class.

You stood, hands stiffly held to your sides. It was hard just to maintain eye level.

“H-Hello.” Rough start, but you managed from there, giving your name next. “I… just transferred here from Aoba Johsai. I hope we can get along!” You sputtered a bit at the end part, but no one seemed hung up on that aspect of your introduction. Instead, they seemed much more focused on the school you transferred from.

“Aoba Johsai? Isn’t that a private school?”

“What the hell are they doing here then?”

Ouch. Should have thought about that. Of course it’d just come across weird that you went from a private school like Aoba Johsai to a school like Karasuno. But they didn’t need to know your reasoning. Why’d it matter to them anyway?

You shook away the thoughts; They weren’t all that important right then. Instead, you chose to focus on the class ahead of you.

And, when that was over, you focused on the two guys trying to get your attention.

“H-Huh?” You whipped around in response to your name. The guy who sat behind you waved sheepishly, his friend (you assumed) was standing next to him.

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Chikara Ennoshita. I just wanted to say welcome to Karasuno.” He smiled warmly, tired eyes focused on you. There was a solid moment where you had no idea what to say.

“Th-Thank you!” You immediately stood, clearly more taken aback than a normal person would have been. “I actually really… appreciate that.” You laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of your head. Ennoshita stood as well.

“You seemed pretty nervous, are you doing alright now?”

“Uh, y-yeah. For sure. I think…” Now that sure sounded confident. “I mean! It’s not like I’m that nervous I just---” You were about to ramble and you were acutely aware of it. “New environments are scary for anyone, right? A-And this is definitely new, I mean, I went to Aoba Johsai before--- not that I’m trying to brag or anything!” You mentally smacked yourself for that.

“... I’m going to take it that you’re still pretty nervous.” Ennoshita remarked.

“That obvious, huh?” You tried to play it off as a joke, hoping he didn’t already hate you. Honestly YOU already hated yourself. Ennoshita was just about to respond when you noticed a black jacket on his desk. You turned your head at an angle to read the white font.

… It was a Volleyball jacket. Then he…

“You’re on the Boy’s Volleyball Team?” The sentence came rushing out of your mouth before the awkward talk could continue.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Me and---” He went to gesture to his friend, but he had actually already left. “... Narita…” He narrowed his already down-turned eyes at the nothingness behind him.

“He ditched you…?”

With a sigh and a shake of the head, Ennoshita turned back to you. “Probably didn’t want to be too late to the first day of practice.”

“Ah, that’d make sense. I know I wouldn’t want to be late either.”

“You seemed… pretty excited just a second ago. You a fan of Volleyball?” His smile was as gentle as before, but this time you felt the pang in your heart again.

“I… used to play.” You noticed his eyebrows raise a bit as his mouth turned downward.

“Really? That’s cool. You should try to come to our games sometime then.” He paused for a moment, placing his hand on his desk. “We’re… not all that great, but we’re not bad either.”

“You’ll be getting new members now, though, right?”

Ennoshita looked confused for a moment. You decided that meant you should elaborate a little.

“So… you can still be great.”

“... We can still be great, huh?” There was a very distinct hint of amusement in his repeating your words. You weren’t sure exactly why he repeated them at all, but maybe he liked the way you said it.

“Yeah. I don’t really think it’s all that good for you guys to hold onto how you were seen. It’s more important to carry on, right? Create a new image.” It was your turn to smile gently, trying your best to come across as genuine as you felt.

“You’re right.” His hand went for his club jacket, and then he reached for his bag. “I’m sure Daichi and the others have greatness in store for them. I have to get going to practice, but I’ll… see you around. Bye!”

With that, Ennoshita headed off, leaving you to stand in quiet thought.  
You noted how he quickly dismissed himself in that last statement.

 

* * *

 

It felt like things were finally fitting into place for you. School life at Karasuno was becoming second nature and your classes weren’t too impossibly hard, although some things came easier to you than others. Ennoshita was luckily always right behind you to help; That dude just seemed to have everything down.  
Well everything but his own self-confidence.

You often asked about the previous day’s practice, but he usually just explained how well his other teammates were doing. You decided it was best to let it go. However, one day, your persistent interest in the club’s activities paid off.

“Huh? You want me to come to practice?” You repeated back to him. Ennoshita seemed more nervous when you didn’t just say ‘yes’.

“I mean, you always want to know how it went and I’m just one perspective, so I thought, maybe you’d like to see it for yourself, if you’re not… busy?” He really trailed off at the end, seeming more unsure the longer you didn’t answer.

“I…” Now it was your turn to seem unsure. On one hand, you would love to see the team, but on the other…

“There you go again!” Ennoshita’s voice startled you.

“H-HUH?!”

“You’re a pretty relaxed person once you get to know someone, but for some reason Volleyball makes you get all passive again.” Shit, were you that easy to read just from a week or so of knowing him? “I’m not looking to dig into your personal life, but the way I see it you still love Volleyball, right?”

Of course you did. You loved it with all that you could.

“Yeah.”

“Then come to practice. I know you really do want to be on the court again. Or am I going to have to make you?” His eyes narrowed, sending a chill down your spine. He really could be scary when he wanted to.

“F-Fine! But just this once. I don’t want to get in your guy’s way.”

“There we go!” Ennoshita smiled brightly, already leading you out of the classroom.

Maybe… just maybe. This would be good for you. It’d been half a year since you stood near a court… it was time. You couldn’t keep hiding from something you once cared so much for.


	2. The Boy's Volleyball Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written up to chapter 5 in advanced so i can't wait to notice small plot mistakes i made early on that'll be fun :' D  
> I've had to like, slowly rewatch season 1 episodes just to remember the order of events hooby

Ennoshita had already mentioned the mishaps of the first years all throughout that first week of school. You were pretty interested to see them first hand. The walk to the clubroom was mostly silent, your eyes staring straight ahead, hands tucked away in your pockets. You were nervous. Of course you were nervous.

It wasn’t just the new people, though, you were nervous to even be near a court. You didn’t want to be remembering last year.

“No need to be so tense.” Ennoshita casted a glance in your direction. Clearly he’d been seeing all your nervous ticks that entire walk. “You look like Hinata right now.”

“Hinata? That really fast first-year?”

“Yeah. He’s been so nervous since Takeda-sensei set up our first official practice match. I’m actually not sure how he’s going to do.” He gave a shaky laugh, trying to ease the tension in his own body.

“I’m sure he’ll pull himself out of it. It’s always most stressful right before. But getting on that court, everyone working together… kind of makes all that just fade away.”

“You’ve got a point there. Speaking of the practice match, though, I never told you who we’re going up against.”

“Oh yeah, who is it?” Your interest was piqued now. Ennoshita probably wouldn’t have mentioned it if you weren’t going to care too much.

“Aoba Johsai.”

Those words were all it took to make you freeze in your spot. Ennoshita took notice rather quickly, stopping just a few steps ahead of you.

“A-AOBA JOHSAI?! But we were top 4 in the prefecture last year!!!” That shout had been much louder than you meant it.

“We?” Ennoshita pointed out, an eyebrow raised. “You’re at Karasuno now, you should probably start acting like it.” You weren’t a fan of the smirk he was wearing all of a sudden.

“R-Right.” Your feet started to move again, though they tended to drag a little. “Still, that’s… amazing, I can’t believe Takeda-sensei got that setup…” You mused aloud, a finger now brought up to your mouth. The fact that he could convince them to play a match with arguably the most average team in the prefecture… outstanding. No wonder Hinata was so scared.

“We thought so, too.”

“So how do you think you’ll do?” It was Ennoshita’s turn to pause this time. He pursed his lips for a second, eyes avoiding you and head tilting.

“Honestly… I expected to be on the bench, so I don’t think it’ll be up to me at all. But… our first years seem to have a lot of potential. I think if Kageyama and Hinata can keep their heads clear, we could do alright.”

“Hmm is that so?”

“Wh-what?” He shot back at your question.

“Nothing. Just bummed I won’t be there to see you play.” That was at least half the truth.

Finally you arrived at the clubroom, Ennoshita moving on ahead to get changed and tell the team you were there to observe. Obviously he hadn’t asked Daichi yet if you could so you weren’t exactly banking that high on getting to stay. You hovered around the rooms, staying mostly in the shade despite how cold it actually felt. You just didn’t want to be out in the open all awkward like usual.

Lucky for you, you really didn’t need to worry about that at all.

A kid with spikey orange hair soon was dragging his feet as he descended the stairs. It looked as if his soul had been ripped forcefully out of him; He was clearly in really bad shape. Hinata, perhaps? Ennoshita had said he was nervous, but this… this was just on a whole new level.

“Hinata!!!” A sudden shout caused you to jump a little. It was coming from the floor above you and they sounded… scary. Though at least your suspicions were confirmed when the orange hair kid turned at the call of his name. “You’re wearing my pants!”

Hinata looked dazed before glancing down at the pants he was wearing. They seemed to slide down a little. It took all the strength you had to stifle your laughing, but gosh it was just so funny! There was some other shouting from above, but really you were too caught up in the first exchange and also trying to keep mostly hidden.  
The poor kid didn’t need the extra embarrassment of having you there to witness it all.

A little while later, Ennoshita came down the steps and scanned the area for you. Taking a step out and away from the shadows, you got his attention, to which he jogged over to you.

“The captain gave me the all good, so you can watch from the sidelines.”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Your face lit up in the same way Ennoshita remembered it doing when you first saw his club jacket. He loved how happy you looked.

“Just make sure you stay out of the way, and watch for stray balls, alright?” He patted your back perhaps a little too hard for your liking before directing you towards the gymnasium. You rolled your eyes in response, but decided it best to keep your retorts to yourself this time after the guy just invited you to his practice.

Coming up on the entrance to the gym, your mouth opened slightly in awe. You hadn’t stepped foot on a court in what felt like forever.

“Come on, come on, no wimping out now.” Ennoshita gave you a gentle push, forcing you to stumble your way into the room. The squeak of shoes on the wood suddenly made you feel nostalgic. This was overwhelming to say the least.

You watched as the team began setting up, Ennoshita leaving you awkwardly next to the doorway so he could go help out. You weren’t feeling so hot anymore.

 

_ You still remember standing aside from the court. What used to be your court. Tears in your eyes as you spoke to the Coach. She nodded along understandingly, but you could tell… she just pitied you. _

 

Someone called out your name and you found yourself whirling around to face a rather intimidating guy. He had to have been a third year, easily…

“Y-yes?” You responded, trying to keep your grip on basic human speech.

“I’m Daichi Sawamura, The Captain. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Despite how initially scared of him you were, you found the manner in which he spoke actually… relaxing.

“I-It’s nice to meet you, Sawamura. You… apparently already know my name.” You smiled shyly.

“Ennoshita told me it when he mentioned you wanted to watch. Though now that I think about it…” Daichi brought a hand up to his chin in thought. “He’s definitely mentioned you before.”

“H-Huh? Really? He has?” You glanced over at Ennoshita who was happily chatting away with his teammates. He took a moment to notice your gaze and smiled at you. “I didn’t think he would have…”

“You used to play Volleyball for the Girl’s Team with Aoba Johsai, right?” Daichi smiled as if that was just a normal every day question to ask of you. There was definitely hesitation on your end.

“Y-Yes. I did. Just for a little while.”

“Ah, I see. My friend, Michimiya said you looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.” His hands now rested on his sides. “Well, either way, we’re happy to have you here. Just be mindful of stray balls. And, well…” Suddenly Daichi turned his head away from you and towards the Team, who was warming up. Hinata didn’t seem to be managing to do much of anything correctly. “Pardon our coordination right now. Some of us are dealing with the stress of a practice match against Aoba Johsai better than others.”

“I… see.” You muttered, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“OI! HINATA!” Daichi shouted as the orange haired kid took a ball straight to the face. You flinched on instinct. “I should---”

“Yeah! You go ahead, it was nice meeting you!” You waved gently as he jogged off to make sure Hinata wasn’t dying or something.

Having released a lot of the tension you were holding onto, you finally dared to step away from the door, walking the perimeter until you were satisfied with the angle. You noted the pairs of eyes that would sometimes land on you. Ennoshita probably didn’t give all of them the heads up, so you were potentially an… odd sight. The captain had seemed friendly enough, though, so you weren’t exactly worried everyone here would be aggressive or anything.

Time went on pretty steadily. You watched as they all practiced the various basics in Volleyball: Serving, Receiving, Spiking. It wasn’t until that last one that there was any problem.

“Hey! Watch where you’re spiking!” The shout alerted you just in time to where your attention should be turned. A ball had been spiked rather hard over near the edge of the court. Your eyes grew wide as the trajectory was still aimed straight for you when it bounced.

On pure instinct, you spread your legs to either side and readied your arms. It wasn’t more than a split second later that the ball collided, you raising your whole body up against the impact, and sending it back towards the court. Everyone else seemed to freeze.

“W-WOAH!” A silver haired guy yelled from the opposite side of the room.

“Are you alright?!” Ennoshita was next to shout, concern etched into every part of his face.

You stared down at your arms. They were red, for sure. And yet… there was certainly a part of you that had missed that.

“Y-Yeah! I’m fine!” You called back, finally easing up your form and returning to a regular standing position. “No harm done!”

“Tanaka, you idiot!!!” You saw Daichi punching some bald guy, who you now knew as Tanaka. “Watch your spikes! You could have seriously hurt them!”


	3. Aoba Johsai Practice Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late night updating woo hoo  
> time to go watch the rest of season 3 and probably cry some cause lbr

You met a couple of the guys after that moment.  
Tanaka approached you immediately, apologizing over and over again until you managed to reassure him that you were totally fine. Sugawara approached after that, insisting you don’t go easy on Tanaka ‘cause he’ll just end up doing it again. You couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Anyway, that was a really impressive receive!” Suga pointed out, all smiles. You couldn’t help but internally admit he was pretty cute.

“They played for Aoba Johsai, apparently.” Daichi offered up, filling in the reason without your having to do so. A part of you appreciated that, since you weren’t exactly keen on answering yourself.

“Wowww, so that’d explain it.” Suga looked impressed with you. “I don’t really know much about their girl’s team, but I doubt they’re weak at all.”

“We… were easily overshadowed by the Boy’s team.” You started off quietly. Having three guys around you was nerve wracking to say the least. “But I think we were pretty good. I know all of my senpais were really strong.”

“I bet!” Suga was grinning at you, arms at either side of him. For some reason you had expected all these guys to be really intense or intimidating, but you hadn’t really noticed any of them get all intense at you. There was, however, that tall blonde guy in the distance who seemed to wear a perpetual glare. If you just avoided him, though it’d be easier for the both of you.

Practice resumed soon after, no other stray balls flying towards you, luckily.

“So how’d you like it?” Ennoshita greeted you pretty quickly at the end, a towel around his neck. You certainly appreciated how hard he continued to work even after he admitted he thought he’d be on the bench initially. So… there was a part of him that wanted to be as great as the rest.

“It was… an experience.” You glanced to the side. “It’s been so long since I’d been around Volleyball, I nearly forgot how exhilarating it can be.”

“I’m glad! Are you sure your arms are alright after that receive? Tanaka hits his spikes pretty hard without much regard to his surroundings. The dumbass…”

“Yeah! Yeah, they’re totally okay! There’s no need to worry about me!” You held up your hands in defense, adding a laugh to try and prove your point and keep it casual. He sighed in relief.

“That’s good.”

“Did… you want me to wait for you so we can walk home together?” You asked politely. For a second you could have almost sworn his face was growing red, but you assumed it was just all that physical exertion catching up to him.

“Y-Yeah! That’d be great! I promise I won’t take long!” He gave you a wave before dashing off to the clubroom.

“Take your time, you idiot!” You shouted after him. Yeesh, it wasn’t like you’d be waiting all that long either way.

Sure, enough he returned after a short time and greeted you with his usual tired smile. Little did you know, all his friends had just gotten done teasing him about walking home alone with you.

_ “Look at you go, Ennoshita, you didn’t strike me as the type!” Tanaka smacked his hand across Ennoshita’s back, causing him to stumble forward a little. “They’re super cute you lucky dog, you!!! Ahahaha!” _

_ “I already said it’s not like that, do you ever listen?” Ennoshita glared, rubbing at the spot on his back. “Besides, they’re the one who brought it up first.” _

_ “Mhm, mhm. The start of romance.” Sugawara was next to join in on the teasing. The way he saw it, maybe this would ease the nerves of the other members. _

_ “Don’t you start on this, too.” He muttered in response, heading out of the room. _

_ “Wh- Hey, wait! I’m not done yet!” Tanaka shouted while stifling a laugh. _

Yeahhh. Ennoshita didn’t want to mention any of that to you. While he felt comfortable joking around and sometimes being a little more mean than to the average person, there was no denying you had only known each other for a week. It was just… too soon to say how you’d react.

The walk home was pleasant. The two of you simply joked back and forth and you supplied some commentary to how everyone did.

“Hinata seemed to be all over the place… do you think he’s going to be okay?” Your mind went back over how often he seemed to miss basic maneuvers. Ennoshita laughed beside you. He was clearly trying to relieve the worry from himself.

“I don’t know why, but I feel like he’ll manage.”

And that was that.

You parted ways and headed home, feeling… at ease? Relief? An overwhelming sense of pride in yourself for facing your anxiety? Hungry cause you forgot it’s dinner time? Yeah that last one seemed right.

 

* * *

 

You were planning to bug Ennoshita for help on the lesson that day, but honestly… he seemed so lost in thought about the game later you figured it was better to just let him be. The match was after school, so you should have guessed he’d be high strung. You always were before a match, too. Whether it was practice or not.

As the final bell rang, you watched Ennoshita snap out of his daze and quickly gather his things. Before he could rush out with his friend, though, you stopped him.

“D-Do your best!” You said it a lot faster than you would have liked, but after a few seconds understanding flew across his face.

“You got it!” He flashed you a huge grin and a thumbs up. And then he was gone. You wondered why you felt so much tightness in your chest just at the thought of them playing against Aoba Johsai, but you thought it best to ignore.

 

* * *

 

“Ennoshita, are you properly hyped?!” Tanaka was as loud as ever, adding boisterous laughs here and there. “We’re going to destroy these idiots!”

“You keep yelling like that and Daichi’s going to get mad.” Ennoshita deadpanned, earning quite the reaction from Tanaka. He quickly regained composure though, clearing his throat to change the subject.

“So, hey! Did your date wish you luck before ya left?” Tanaka nudged him with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning to no end. Ennoshita simply glared back, an eyebrow raised.

“Tanaka, can you save your provoking for something actually useful?” This earned another reaction. Ennoshita then went on to further elaborate for the millionth time that you two weren’t like that and that Tanaka should focus more on riling up the opposing team, not his own.

“He’s got a point, Tanaka. You could be using your powers for good, like getting Hinata to relax!” Sugawara stared his teammate down, arms crossed over his chest. “He’s still in the bathroom, after all!”

So caught up in their own discussions, no one noticed someone from the other side listening in.

“What’s wrong, Iwaizumi?”

“... Nothing, Makki. Just thought I heard their name…”

“Huh?”

 

* * *

 

The next day after the practice match, you couldn’t wait to see someone on the Volleyball Team and ask how it went. You initially thought you might run into Ennoshita first, since he was in your class and all, but instead you saw Sugawara at one of the vending machines.

“SUGAWARA!” You shouted, getting his attention, but nearly causing him to drop his drink. “How’d it go!?” You waved your arms dramatically as you approached him. Internally, he wondered why you didn’t run over.

“Well, we, uh, won.” He grinned sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “But we had a rough start.”

“Hinata?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled lightly. “He was so nervous about being benched he couldn’t do anything right for the first set. But after he hit Kageyama in the back of the head on a serve, I think he kind of got his act together.” Another laugh escaped him.

“I’d think that’d get him benched for sure.” You shook your head a little, muttering to yourself. “I’m really glad for you guys, though! That’s kind of an amazing feat since you got past Oikawa and all!”

“Hm… well… truthfully…” Suga looked extremely nervous all of a sudden, shifting his weight from one leg to the next. “We barely played against him.” It was so matter of fact, but you could tell he hadn’t wanted to admit it.

“Hm?”

“He came in only during the end of the second set. His serves were amazing, the precision and the power.” There was a lot of respect behind his words. Clearly Oikawa was just as good as you recalled. “If he had been there since the start, well… who knows.”

“I see. Regardless, you guys did it!!! I can’t wait to congratulate Ennoshita!”

“He deserves it, he gave it his all, too! I should head off now, though. Class will be starting soon. See you around!” With a friendly wave ‘goodbye’, Sugawara left you alone by the vending machine.

You couldn’t help but briefly wonder if Oikawa would even remember you.


	4. Getting to Know the First Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can u tell how hard i am shying away from writing kageyama? cause it's hardcore

It became rather standard for you to come with Ennoshita during his after school practices. Of course, you didn’t attend all of them, but you started becoming a bit more of a regular. It was just so easy to talk to the third years and to Ennoshita and Tanaka, of course. Despite any outward appearing intimidation, they were all really nice guys.

That being said, with how tense everyone had been before the Aoba Johsai match, you weren’t exactly on speaking terms with any of the first years. There were four of them, you noted. Hinata, Kageyama, that tall blonde guy, and his freckled friend. The latter two always seemed to hang around each other so you just kind of assumed they were close.

“Hey, Tanaka?”

“Yo, what’s up?” Tanaka caught the ball aimed at him and launched it back without having to avert his eyes. “You usually don’t talk to me, is this a love confession?” He teased. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, nothing like that.”

“Good, cause I’d have to be a lil worried what the other guys would do ‘bout that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You raised an eyebrow, unsure what he was trying to imply. Although you could easily gather he was making more jokes.

“Nothin’. What’d ya want anyway? Cause good ol’ Tanaka is here to help!” He gave you a wide grin, but was promptly smacked in the face with the ball he chose to ignore for all of 2 seconds. “OI! I wasn’t ready!” He shouted back to Sugawara.

“Sorry, sorry!” There was a hint of amusement to his response.

“Anyway… What can you tell me about that scary blonde guy and his friend? I haven’t really spoken to them at all…” You pressed forward in your inquiry, trying to ease Tanaka past his earlier blunder.

“Huh? Tsukishima and Yamaguchi?” You nodded at him. “I don’t like that tall, smug bastard.” He practically growled out his response. Yikes, there’s some obvious personality clashing there.

“Avoid Tsukishima, got it.” You were only half joking.

“What? Nah. Just cause I can’t stand the bastard doesn’t mean you might not get along with him.” A whistle was blown and everyone stopped as Daichi called for a break. “Besides, that Yamaguchi kid ain’t too bad by himself.”

By himself? An interesting observation to have made.

Well, it was their break. You had a shot to at least be polite and introduce yourself. It was probably a bit uncomfortable for them, having you there already multiple times just kind of… watching.

“H-Hey!” Your greeting started off weak, as it usually did around new people.

Kageyama was the first to take notice of you, but he certainly didn’t seem that interested. Hinata was next to turn around and boy, was he all smiles. Off to the side a bit, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima watched in practiced interest.

“Hey! You’re that receiving person!!!” Hinata shouted, finger immediately pointed in your direction. “You returned the stray ball the other day! You were like ‘whoosh’ and then ‘bomp’!”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” The blonde guy muttered under his breath. Yamaguchi snickered.

“Uh, I… I guess so, yeah?” You hadn’t thought he noticed, seeing the sad shape he was in at the time. Regardless, you gave him your actual name in hopes that he wouldn’t just call you ‘that receiving person’ for the rest of highschool. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”

They all rang back with various degrees of much the same. Tsukishima still didn’t pay you much mind, but perhaps that was for the best. It was harder to notice keeping your distance, but yeesh that guy really was super tall!

“Hey, hey, can you teach me how to receive like that?!” Hinata was rather close now, bouncing on his knees excitedly. Kageyama whacked him in the side and mumbled something about him needing to calm down. You let out a small chuckle, avoiding eye contact.

“Sorry, I’m not exactly a teacher of any kind.” You admitted shyly. Hinata’s knees stopped and his mouth twisted up in thought. Just when he was about to prod for more information, however:

“All right! Let’s get back to it!” Daichi called for the end of the break, and you had to politely get out of the way.

 

* * *

 

“OI! Receiving Person!!!” Hinata shouted at you outside the second that practice ended, earning a sharp jump from yourself. You turned on your heel just in time to see him dashing right up to you. It crossed your mind that he hadn’t bothered to use your name… again. Sure, if you spoke up about it he’d probably refer to you properly, but… eh. “Did you want to walk home together?!”

His energy seemed endless. That was probably why he was able to pull off all those freak quicks. That did pose the question, though: How did Kageyama put up with it? Well… despite outward appearances it was probably safe to assume the setter was incredibly passionate about Volleyball. In any other context maybe they’d clash in a whole different way.

“Um, sure? Why?” You casted a sideways glance towards Ennoshita, who seemed to be rather busy in a conversation with Tanaka and the Captain.

“Cause Tanaka told us you played for Aoba Johsai, right, right?!” His hands had formed fists and he had them raised up to his chin. Your head tilted to the right.

“So?” You finally asked, not really understanding why just cause you played for Aoba Johsai (Their Girl’s Team, even. So not their concern.) had suddenly made you The Person to walk home with.

“So, you’re just another elite.” Tsukishima approached from your left, headphones already around his neck and a smirk so small you almost wouldn’t notice it. Yamaguchi stood beside him, face rather neutral.

“Hm… I guess you could say that.” You shrugged weakly. This apparently wasn’t the reaction he had expected from you, because that smirk was gone. You figured as much, he was just trying to rile you up, but with all your years in Volleyball you knew the routine. After some time it became easier to just roll with the punches.

“What position were you?” Kageyama finally spoke to you directly, having walked out undetected by you.

“Huh?” You were caught a little off guard, to say the least.

“What position did you play?” He hardly changed his sentence at all, probably assuming you didn’t hear him rather than you didn’t understand. You managed to put 2 and 2 together, though, nearly forgetting that Tsukishima’s comment had derailed the previous Volleyball playing conversation. If you could even call it that.

“Oh…” You started off softly, as if saying the words was knocking the wind out of you.

 

_You could picture it, the ball flying over the net. You would just have to believe the setter was bringing it to you._

_Believe. Believe. Believe._

_Looking straight ahead, you could see it. The top of the net, The other side of the court, and soon: The ball._

_With all the force you had, you slammed your hand into it, and felt all tension leave you as it hit the other side._

 

“I was… a wing spiker.” You finally stated, shifting your weight onto your left leg.

“Woahhh!!!” Hinata sang, looking up at you all excitedly again. It kind of made you nervous. Any excessive attention was pretty nerve-wracking.

Kageyama simply nodded. He didn’t seem much for unnecessary talking. Maybe that’d be a good thing in the end.

The five of you soon after started walking home, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi all the way in the back of your little grouping. You were simply nodding along to Hinata’s excited speech about why he wanted to go to Karasuno in the first place. It was nice just listening to him, especially when all that energy was about his interests and not about a one-time receive you did.

“Hey, um…” Yamaguchi’s voice really caught your attention. You hadn’t exactly expected him to speak up at all. “I was wondering something… since you mentioned it.” His voice was soft, not in volume, but more in tone. You could understand what Tanaka was saying before then.

“What’s up?” You prompted him to continue, head turned back in his direction. You hoped you wouldn’t run into anything, or that Hinata would warn you if you were about to.

“You used to play Volleyball… so why aren’t you now?” That was a little more direct of a question than you’d have liked him to ask. Stupid. Obviously it would come up again and again. You constantly were dodging it, so people would just keep prodding.

You really weren’t mad at him, it was just… frustrating.

“Oh, well…” Again, it had felt like the wind was knocked out of you. Your head turned back forward, as to limit your having to make eye contact. The pain of having to quit still lingered, and a couple tears began to well up in your eyes. “It’s… complicated.” Still vague, always vague.

It was pretty stupid to keep avoiding things, but it was just too soon to talk about it. Half a year was not enough time at all. You’d get there, one day, but it just wasn’t time…

“Oh. Alright.” Yamaguchi could tell you were uncomfortable. He hadn’t intended to make you upset. “Sorry for asking.” You immediately turned around at that, both hands raised in defense.

“No, no, no! It’s fine! I promise! I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so---” So what? So… secretive? So scared? So closed off after Hinata invited you to walk with all of them? “M-My house is this way, so I’ll just… bye!” With that, you just speed walked away from them and away from the main road. Not your smoothest departure from a conversation, but it did the job.

Getting home, you quietly shut the door behind you and gazed into the dark. Your mother wasn’t home yet… working late. You were thankful for that, honestly, just meant you could finally sort through your feelings in peace. And you did just that, leaning back against the door as those stray tears returned.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! You shouldn’t have been crying, there was no reason to cry! It was just a question! A harmless question!

Your vision was becoming blurry from all the crying, and you sank down to the floor, knees raised in front of you.

 

_You wanted to play. You wanted to play Volleyball, damn it!_

 

You wanted to practice again, to jump and hit a ball served to you from a teammate. You wanted to play.

But you couldn’t.

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

Why did you ever let Ennoshita talk you into coming to practice? Why didn’t you just tell him the truth instead of all these vague workarounds? Why couldn’t you just have moved on at this point?

Why couldn’t you be like all of them?


	5. It's Been Awhile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finished the anime and cried a lot and I love all these characters so much :' D

It was pathetic of you, but you started to avoid the club. Any time Ennoshita offered for you to tag along, you would manage to form an at least half decent excuse for why you couldn’t go. You hated how disappointed he’d look each time, especially since he had mentioned the returning players and a new coach, but you just weren’t feeling up to it anymore.

You found it hard to feel up to much of anything. You had been trying harder and harder to let the past be in the past, but the truth was you had to carry it with you forever. There was no hiding from what happened so instead… you just hid from the club. It was so much easier to live like that, but at the same time it wore away at you.

Golden week came and went. You threw yourself into mindless housework, reading things on the internet, and helping your mother where you could. It was lonely, you weren’t going to lie. You knew the club was at some training event, Ennoshita had told you just before he left. Apparently the final day would be spent in a practice match with some cat-school. You were excited for them, really.

You wished you could go up to them, congratulate them on their hard work, and smile. A real smile.

“Hey!” Ennoshita stopped you one day after class, just before you went to try and leave.

“Yeah?” You turned to look his way, probably more depressed looking than you’d have liked. His entire posture softened just seeing you, but he knew he had to be firm. He had to get you back in that gymnasium no matter what. Everyone hated seeing you like that.

But what could he do? He wasn’t exactly anything special, on the court or off it. The truth was, Ennoshita felt powerless to do anything, like he was just a bystander to your downfall. He hadn’t known you long at all, but goddamn if he wasn’t missing your chats, and the way you lit up every time someone did a quick, and making you laugh. He really missed that one.

“Ennoshita?” You weren’t sure why he froze up so suddenly.

“Please come to practice again.” There were so many thoughts in his head, all scrambled up and knotted like thread. He couldn’t actually make you go like he at first joked about, the only reason a vague threat had worked at all back then was because deep down you really had wanted to go. No. Right now you had something hurting you, he needed something tangible. “Look---”

“I’m sorry, Ennoshita, I have housework to do.” You were lying. Why did you lie to him again? Was it easier than the truth?

“Stop that.” Although quiet, there was a certain sternness to his voice.

Most students had cleared out of the classroom, so you weren’t too worried about causing a scene, but there was no need to be making so much ruckus.

“Stop doing housework? Don’t think I ca---” Your attempt at a lighthearted joke fell flat the second you made eye contact with him again. “Sorry.”

You wanted to tell him it’d be better if he just stopped asking, but… Did you really want that?

“Now, now, guys, no need to be that tense.” Both of you were taken by surprise when Sugawara entered the classroom, his bright smile replaced with a more… concerned expression.

“Sugawara?” Ennoshita silently wondered if he had been here for longer than he thought and the team was already started. But that was impossible… so…

“Ennoshita, may I have a moment alone with them?” He gestured a thumb towards you.

“Huh?” Ennoshita questioned. You nearly made the same noise. The heck did he want to talk to you about? “I… guess so. See you around…” His heart wasn’t in it enough to make that sound even slightly cheery, but he slowly left the room regardless.

“What did you want, Sugawara?” You promptly asked the second Ennoshita was gone. There was a slight pause, until he began to approach you, stopping just a desk’s length away. “S-Sugawara?” He was still silent for a moment, but smiling nonetheless.

“Hey, what position did you used to play?” That was all he asked at first.

“Wing spiker.” You just wanted this over with so you could go home and watch some TV or something. Anything other than face these guys and play 20-freaking-questions.

“And, in your own words, what did it feel like playing that position?”

“Suga---”

“Answer the question, please.” His smile faded a little bit, like he was ready to drop the nice act with you if you stopped playing along.

“It… I guess it… it felt like I could fly. Like, even if it was only for a few, brief seconds, there was no one above me, and nothing to care about when I hit the ground. Sugawara, can I---”

“No. I want you to tell me, honestly, all the reasons you love Volleyball.” Sugawara was definitely stern now, voice dropping into a harsher tone.

Your hands tightened up into fists and you could feel the tears behind your eyes once more. Sugawara softly said your name, hoping you’d speak up and keep going. You didn’t want to, of course not, but he had a look on his face that just pushed you.

“It gave me confidence. It… It gave me friends. It gave me strength, and willpower, and a sense of purpose! It---” You were definitely crying right then, Sugawara’s soft gaze returning. “It made me happy!”

“Well then…” He started, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and handing it to you. “We’ll return those feelings back to you.”

“...What?” Your voice was hardly above a whisper.

“Strength, Confidence, Friends… Happiness. We’ll give it all back to you again, no matter what it takes. Takeda-sensei once told us about chance connections, the kind that can change the world in small ways.” Sugawara chuckled as he took the handkerchief out of your hand to help you wipe away some of the tears. “We don’t know what’s hurt you so badly, but everyone’s worried sick. Especially Yamaguchi, he seems to think you hate him.”

“I don’t.” You quickly corrected. This earned another chuckle from Sugawara.

“Of course you don’t. So why don’t you come back sometime? I’m sure Nishinoya and Asahi would love to meet you. And we have a coach, now. He’s the grandson of Ukai.” Honestly you had no response to that, it wasn’t so easy to just tell him you’d come see practice again. “I’ll leave you alone now; I do have practice after all. But think about it, okay?” He gave you one last wide grin before turning and heading for the door.

“Sugawara…?” Your throat felt tight as your head fought for the right words.

“Hm?” He paused at the classroom entrance, eyes pleading for you to say anything more, anything that could help him understand you just a bit better.

“Tell… Tell them I’m sorry. I’ll make it up, and I’ll be stronger one day!” You hadn’t planned that last bit, but the frustration just spilt over and came tumbling out of your mouth. There was nothing more frustrating to you than the way you were acting. Sugawara just nodded in understanding, leaving you alone in the classroom.

 

* * *

When Sugawara entered the gymnasium, late of course, he had expected Daichi to scold him, but instead all he could feel were Ennoshita’s eyes on him.  _ Of course he’s mad at me _ , he thought with a sigh. You and Ennoshita were close, closer than the rest of them at the time, so having Sugawara step in to talk to you… it must have been a blow to his confidence. It wasn’t like he was treating you special, though, he was just doing the same thing he tried to with Asahi not long before.

It was true, however, that Ennoshita was kicking himself in his mind, knowing that whatever Sugawara would say would be more beneficial to you than anything he could have mustered up. It was irritating just how unreliable he was feeling.

“Oi! We have the Inter High Preliminaries next month, don’t hold back!” Daichi shouted from the sidelines, Sugawara approaching him to apologize for being so late.

 

* * *

It wasn’t all at once, but you started to feel better.  
Chats with Ennoshita were still stiff at first, but you continued to try and hear any updates about the club. He was always happy to oblige your requests, but you knew he was sparing you the details as a subconscious way of making you want to come by again. And you often ran into Hinata and Kageyama early morning by the vending machines. The former usually prodded you with more questions, but Kageyama always got him to calm down.

Tanaka would sometimes bother you at lunch, much to Ennoshita’s apparent annoyance. You certainly didn’t mind however, it was nice that he seeked you out like that.

Daichi and Sugawara also paid a visit once, mostly for the Captain to remind you that you were always free to stop by after school. Suga mentioned something about him not being that nice to Asahi and the two laughed, although you didn’t fully understand.

So when you finally entered their gymnasium, eyes cast down and limbs shaking a bit, everyone stopped.

“THERE THEY ARE!!!” Tanaka immediately screamed, fist pumping at an almost scary pace.

“Tanaka, shut the hell up, you’ll scare them again!” Daichi shot back, to which the other muttered about the use of ‘again?’.

“I-I’m sorry to interrupt!” You blurted out.

You remained still, heart beating out of your chest at the anxiety of it all. You were avoiding them, and they all knew it. But suddenly a hand gripped yours, warm and a bit sweaty from practice. You looked up at Sugawara, who was grinning up a storm.

“Glad to have you back!” Was all he said before letting go. Jeez, why did this guy always have to be so close to you?

You heard Ennoshita call your name as he jogged towards you, a towel around his neck.

“Hey.” You weakly greeted him, but you had a smile on your face nonetheless. It was scary, but you were talking to him in-class so…

“Hey! I’m glad you could make it. You’ve got some people who’d like to meet you.” In contrast to Sugawara’s bright grin, Ennoshita gave you a soft and tired smile, one you were all too familiar with.

“Yo! I’m Yuu Nishinoya!” A rather short boy popped into your line of vision, giving you a thumbs up and toothy grin. Something told you he was holding back on the volume of his voice.

“Oh! The amazing libero, right?” You definitely recalled Tanaka talking about him, or at least you thought you did.

“A-Amazing?!” He seemed flustered at your choice of words, rubbing the back of his neck a bit too enthusiastically. “Y-Yeah! That’s me! Ahahaha!”

“Well, Nishinoya---”

“Noya.”

“Noya, then.” You corrected quickly. “I’m glad you’re around now to teach Hinata and the others to receive. He seemed really bummed when I had to tell him I couldn’t.”

“Oh, right, you used to play.” A tall guy was now coming over, his hair pulled back in a bun. You were instantly intimidated, but held your ground. “Sorry, I meant to introduce myself first!” He held up a single hand and you could tell pretty quickly this guy was as weak-willed as you often felt.

“That’s fine! You must be Asahi, right?” The sudden look of shock on his face caught you off guard, especially when it was tinged pink. Nishinoya snickered beside him.

“Really?! Our Ace just got flustered because someone he’s never met called him by his first name?!” He teased, elbowing Asahi in the ribs.

“Sorry! Sorry! I haven’t ever heard your full name, so I just blurted out what I knew, I’m so sorry---” You almost said it again, but caught yourself.

“I-It’s fine! I just… I… I wasn’t expecting it is all.” He chuckled lightly. “Asahi Azumane is my full name…”

“Azumane. Got it!” The firmness of your tone made him falter yet again, head slumping forward in shyness. The others laughed once more.

“Hey! HEY!” A very sudden shout from the other side of the court caused everyone to jump and turn. “I agreed to let them watch, but on the condition that they don’t distract you all! Now what the hell are you doing?! Get back to spiking before I change my mind!!!” Well that must have been the new Coach. And already you felt you were on his bad side.

“Sorry!” Almost everyone seemed to shout at once before scattering to various places on the court.

Despite your better judgement of just running away, you decided to approach Ukai and apologize directly.

“I-I’m so sorry for the interruption, sir!” You bowed, eyes slammed shut to hold back any anxiety-induced tears. To your surprise, the Coach grunted and shook his head lightly.

“It’s fine. They hadn’t seen you in a long time from my understanding. Doesn’t mean I get to go easy on them, but I guess I can’t hold it against you.” Opening just one eye to peek up, you glance at him and his easy demeanor despite the scary face he constantly made. “And I think they needed the morale boost. Something to get them motivated.”

Morale boost? You? That seemed a little ridiculous when you actually tried to think about it.  
Ukai was caught up in his own thoughts as well, keeping an eye on you. Why exactly had you quit Volleyball when you clearly loved it so much? You didn’t look injured, or like the kind of trouble maker to get expelled. Hell, it wasn’t even looking like you were weak-willed like the Ace was and quit after a hard loss. Was it something personal?

You just watched the practice in quiet interest, eyes lighting up when you saw all the improvements that were already made to the team. Having Noya and Asahi was a huge boost to both their defence and offence. It was as-if the entire team had gone through some huge transformation since you last saw them, but then… it kind of hit you.

Ennoshita wasn’t an above average player, you knew that, even if you wouldn’t be so blunt as to say it. With these new members… he wouldn’t be a regular anymore, would he? How would he take it?

So lost in your thoughts, you hardly noticed as break began, everyone split up in their usual groupings with towels and water bottles in hand. Taking a deep breath, you started walking towards one grouping in particular, knowing exactly what you had to do next.

“Hey, Yamagu---”

“Sorry!!!” He was bowing and shouting before you even had a chance to finish calling his name. It was as if he was expecting this. “I shouldn’t have asked what I had! I didn’t mean to make you upset.” Honestly you were just at a loss for words.

“You’re… apologizing?” It was hardly above a whisper, but the way that Yamaguchi glanced up at you told you he heard it. “That’s ridiculous, you have no reason to!” Your arms were now crossed over your chest.

“You clearly don’t know him.” Tsukishima commented from a bit away.

“Tsukki.” The freckled boy quietly said. You couldn’t tell if it was scolding or praise of his understanding.

“Either way, I should be the one apologizing. You had no idea you would upset me, I mean… how could you know? I reacted poorly to a question and then I…” You hid. You ran. You were a coward. “I avoided you guys, like a real jerk.”

“But you did come back.” Again, Tsukishima piped up, though his voice held no real enthusiasm either which way. “So can you both stop apologizing? It’s embarrassing to watch.”

Perhaps you judged him wrong initially. It wasn’t that he didn’t care or that he hated you, but that he showed his caring in very… unconventional ways. Though you only assumed that because of the grin Yamaguchi then wore. If it hadn’t been for that, you were just going to always think Tsukishima thought of you as a nuisance.

“All right! Let’s get back to it! Receives, now!” Daichi always had such a booming voice when he called for the end of break. You waved the two first years off and returned to watch from the corner.


	6. Clipped Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turn on some sad music, kids, and buckle up  
> We about to get into some #Backstory

A couple weeks blew by, the team preparing morning and afternoon to take on the upcoming tournament. You knew it was hard work, having been to one yourself, so you chose to help wherever you could. Sometimes you took extra notes for Kiyoko if a lot of individual practices were happening, and other times you made them after-practice snacks.

It… made you feel useful again. Like you really were the morale boost Ukai claimed you were. It allowed you to be on the court and yet you hardly thought about the past, just the future of Karasuno’s team. In such a short time, those crows had learned to fly again.

_ You wanted to fly, too. _

Oftentimes after practice you’d walk home with either the second-years or with the first-years. You weren’t quite well-acquainted enough with Daichi and Asahi to feel like asking to tag along, although a couple times Sugawara offered to walk you home. You only took him up on that once, though, as the other time Hinata had already shouted at you to join him.

Maybe it was the fact that you were a more approachable person than Kiyoko, (Who easily scared off the first-years with her attractiveness and aura of elegance.) but still paid a lot of attention and knew what everyone was working on. Or maybe, just maybe, they genuinely enjoyed your presence. Sometimes it was hard to tell with half that first-year group being the enigmatic Kageyama and the smug Tsukishima.

You figured Hinata probably liked hanging around you, and after everything with Yamaguchi, the two of you had friendly chats pretty often.

 

* * *

One morning, you headed out the door rather early, as you usually did. Your mother yelled something to you, to which you gave a raise of your hand. It was a lot warmer in the mornings then, not like when you had first walked to Karasuno at the start of the school year. The sun was still hidden behind the horizon, but the air felt nice against your arms. Your legs, however, were easily going to complain about the knee highs you always wore, at least later in the day.

Turning the corner around your usual shortcut, you were forced to stop for just a moment, groggy head trying to make out what you saw down the way on the main road.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima stood, the latter just listening to music. When Yamaguchi saw you, however, he waved. What were they doing there? Waiting for you, obviously, but why? With a heavy breath, you continued on until within speaking distance.

“Hey, guys. What’s up?”

“We were wondering if you’d walk to school with us.” Yamaguchi offered up, smiling just slightly. There was something more behind his eyes, however.

“Hey, don’t include me in that statement. I’m just here ‘cause you insisted.” Tsukishima’s music wasn’t all that loud, apparently, since he reacted to the conversation so quickly. He let out a yawn, removing his headphones and pausing his music. “... Well?” He looked at you expectantly and you remembered you never answered Yamaguchi.

“Oh! Um… sure. Yeah.” Good confidence, really seeming interested now. You hoped Yamaguchi wasn’t disheartened by that.

“Cool!” The three of you began walking, in pretty much dead silence.

“You know… if you guys wanted to talk to me about something you didn’t have to get up so early.” You finally stated, noting the way Tsukishima kept yawning.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s fine! We have to be up for morning practice anyway.” Yamaguchi insisted, small smile still plastered on his face. He was trying to keep calm, but a question still burned in his mind. He just wanted to help, but he knew how you might react.

“Hm.” Your eyes went straight forward, just watching the road. It was so empty.

“... Hey… you, uh, don’t have to answer this, but…” It wasn’t too often that Yamaguchi got shy, especially with Tsukishima by his side, but clearly he was right then. You wanted to reassure him somehow, but the way your stomach was twisting up kept you occupied. “Why don’t you talk about why you quit Volleyball?” A less direct question than his first weeks ago.

“I should of guessed…” You whispered breathily. “You’re not good at hiding things, Yamaguchi.” It was a plain statement, but Tsukishima’s smirk seemed to tell you that you were right. Funny, since a week or so ago he had told you how you didn’t know Yamaguchi at all.

“S...sorry.”

“No. It’s fine. I just…” Your chest tightened. With the others, they learned to just let it go, they moved on from asking and simply let you enjoy the action from the sidelines. No one had to know, you thought. No one needed to know how badly things hurt you. Everyone had a burden to carry, a weight on their shoulders to make them stronger, and this was yours. So why? Why did he keep having to ask?! “I’ll show you.” The words left you without even thinking.

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, not sure what you could mean, but intrigued. Yamaguchi just looked a little pale.

With a deep breath, you approached a bench and stopped, the other two pausing along side you. It was your burden, it was your pain, it was your secret. But they’d know eventually… wouldn’t they? Someone would just find out. Telling them on your own terms, it felt better in some way.

 

_ They went for a dump, and no one was on the left vanguard, everyone had moved too far back. Your eyes landed perfectly on the ball. You could make it, couldn’t you? You could hit that. You could save it. _

_ So you dove. _

 

Eyes prickled with tears once more as you firmly placed your right leg up on the bench. Tsukishima’s face lightened with realization, but you weren’t looking.

 

_ Your body hadn’t moved the way you wanted, though, your ankle twisting up as you landed. Through the pain, the ball still made contact with your fist and flew nearly straight up. _

 

With shaky hands, you gripped the edge of your sock, and tugged it down past your ankle.  
A huge surgery scar went up the length of your calf.

Yamaguchi said your name gently as tears began to streak down your face.

 

_ Your teammate called the spike, rushing forward with only her eyes on the ball. You still remained unmoving on the floor, struggling to get up with the pain in your sprained ankle. Until… _

_ You screamed. The spiker had jumped right onto your twisted limb and stumbled completely forward, getting caught up painfully in the net and falling down. _

_ There was blood. _

 

“See?! I can’t play anymore. I-- I can’t do it! I’m not supposed to jump or even run! I can’t do anything! Goddamn it!” You balled your hands up into fists, rubbing again and again at your eyes. “I-- I-- I can never play Volleyball again!!!” Your throat hurt after that particular scream. Everything burned, everything hurt.

_ You wanted to fly, too. _

You wanted more than anything to play again, not to be told you couldn’t. That you would risk losing your ability to walk on that foot.

“Fuck, I was… I was so lucky to be able to walk, but!!!” You gripped your leg a little too hard, frustration of nearly a year of this stupid, stupid injury boiling over. “I want to play…” You were much more quiet that time, nails leaving imprints. “I want to play…” It came out choked, barely audible.

“It’s a simple solution.” Tsukishima was quiet for so long that his voice immediately drew your attention to him. Still, you couldn’t look. “Just find something else that makes you happy.”

… What the hell? He was just trying to piss you off, wasn’t he? Except…

“You like watching practice.” He added on, his face free of any mocking looks. “So do that. Find other things like that.” Always so blunt and seemingly ill-meaning, but you knew he was just doing what little he could to help.

“And here I thought you might hate me…” You mumbled to yourself bitterly, though still sniffling. “Not like it would have mattered, but still.”

“I hate how nonchalant you are about things.” The blonde pointed out in response to your last remark. “It’s no fun.”

Yamaguchi looked between the two of you, not sure why you responded so well to his best friend’s unique way of cheering people up. Usually he had to explain what was going on, but for once… someone else just got it.

“...Hey, by the way…” You wiped once more at your face, pulling up your sock. “Please don’t tell the others.” Turning back to look at them for the first time in awhile, it was clear Yamaguchi was getting a bit sniffly, too.

“Wh-why?” He asked quickly.

“Cause I don’t want them giving me the look you have.” Without even noticing it, Yamaguchi was definitely pitying you. His entire face was etched with concern and empathy. You hadn’t wanted that right then. “I changed schools because I wanted to get away from it all. It’s hard to move on when no one lets you.”

“Tch. You have a point.” Tsukishima seemed irritated at how quickly you recovered. Or maybe he was frustrated with how well you took things? “Fine. We won’t tell anyone, right, Yamaguchi?”

“Right, Tsukki!”

You couldn’t form the words to respond to them properly, to show your thanks. There was a lot going on in your mind and in your heart. Obviously you hadn’t told anyone since you had moved schools, outside of faculty. It was like, a weight rose up from your shoulders.

“So, hey, you haven’t told Ennoshita yet?!” Yamaguchi suddenly questioned, pointing a finger at you in surprise.

“N-No, I haven’t. Why, is that so weird?” You were pouting a little bit. Of course everyone had noticed you were closest to Ennoshita, but they didn’t need to make such a big deal of it. Jeez.

“I thought he’d definitely be first to know…”

“Well, he wasn’t. That guy spends way too much time focused on others, he doesn’t need any more reason to.”

“Ah, you’re right… he’s kind of like a mother!” Yamaguchi admitted, for some reason intensely focused on the thought.

“Hm? I thought that was Sugawara.” Tsukishima’s light joke with his mostly monotone voice really hit your funny bone, causing you to laugh just a bit too loud. “Hey, it wasn’t that funny. Your laughing is just making it lame.”

“Sorry, sorry. Let’s just get to school.”

 

* * *

“Interhigh takes place during school hours, right?” You were folding a couple of freshly washed towels next to Sugawara when you suddenly asked the question.

“Hm, yes and no.” He started, not looking away from the towels. “Usually the first match is too close to school times, but the second one you could probably make. That IS what you’re asking, right?”

“Hmph. You always see right through me, Sugawara.”

“You know, you could always just call me Suga, like everyone else.” You could feel his eyes on you, it was an odd sensation. Honestly, you felt like your face was heating up or something.

“Hm, how about this…” You folded the final towel, placing it gingerly with the others before facing Sugawara. His eyes were definitely on you, like you had thought. “I’ll start calling you Suga after I show up to your second match, given that you guys make it to it.”

To that, Sugawara just laughed, his final towel joining yours. He was always so… gentle. In an odd way, of course, cause he’d shout along and rough house with the others where he saw fit, there was no denying that. It was more like, his entire aura was of someone you could trust with anything. The way he smiled at you or laughed at your jokes; It was all comforting. There was no moment that you thought about your own presentation, everything came naturally.

Come to think of it, there was someone else a bit like that, too…

“We’ll win, just you wait.” With a heart as good as his, you were just inclined to believe him. “This year, everything’s come together finally. Everyone’s hard work is paying off every time we practice. And I can see it, all the pieces coming together. We’re becoming unstoppable.”

“Jeez, you’re as weirdly poetic as I am.” The jab may have worked too well, because Sugawara was now frowning, eyebrows knitted together in apprehension. “Sorry, sorry!” You couldn’t help your giggle.

“Come on, then, let’s get out of here. It’s late and I’m sure at least someone’s waiting for you.” Sugawara managed to tease back, gently elbowing your side. You swatted him away, speed walking to take the lead.

_ They’re doing so much better than before _ , he thought to himself. _ But I have no clue… what it even was in the first place. _


	7. First Fight for Nationals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Listen.  
> I know the Dateko match started at 1:30pm in the show. Most schools in Japan don't end until like 3pm. I know travel time is a thing and I know most volleyball matches are like a lil over an hour but, listen.  
> Plot convenience~~~

You were antsy all of class. Ennoshita and Narita had left early to head to the tournament, so you were left all alone to be anxious. There was a tight feeling in your heart, like you belonged with them and the rest of the team, out where they were, cheering for them as best you could. Of course you would be there soon enough, but there was the important matter of school needing to finish up first.

Augh, it was times like that where you really wish you were allowed to run on your leg again. You hoped it wouldn’t cause you to be too late.

Unable to focus, you carefully removed a slip of paper from your bag, thumbing the folds apart. With a rather inattentive expression, you stared at the schedule listing below, noting the many teams Karasuno could potentially be up against. The first match was against some school you didn’t really know, so that was pretty fortunate, but there were a couple others that stood out.

None so much as Aoba Johsai, though. You almost couldn’t believe it back when you first saw the schedule, but of course they were in the same prefecture. It was just… the sudden realization of it.

 

_ “They’re your old school, right?” Asahi was collecting a few stray balls when you first were shown the schedule. _

_ “Yeah.” You breathed out, eyes still scanning over all the names. _

_ “So you know the Great King!!!” Hinata suddenly bounded up out of nowhere. _

_ “Great… king?” You quirked an eyebrow at the nickname. It was so hard to tell with him sometimes who he meant. Perhaps you should have made a note page to keep track. _

_ “Oikawa. Hinata, remember that not everyone always knows what you mean.” Sugawara explained before scolding the younger student. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the defeated expression of Hinata. _

_ “Can’t say that I knew him too well, but yeah.” You admitted, folding up the paper in your hands. “We spoke just once before a match of mine.” The Match, you internally reminded yourself. You subconsciously shifted your weight off your right leg. _

_ “After that practice match we had, I’m ready to defeat him!” Hinata suddenly stared at you with a flare of determination behind his eyes. You held the gaze for a long while, almost awkwardly long. _

_ “Hold on to that.” You finally stated. Everyone glanced over at you in response, a bit confused. _

_ “Eh?” Hinata tilted his head. _

_ “Hold on to that feeling. That one that you had right there. It’ll get you through every tough moment, every powerful opponent. If you never let go of that, then you’ll never truly lose.” _

_ There was a beat of nothing. The room was wholly silent processing your words until, suddenly, Noya was laughing from a ways away. _

_ “You sounded just like Takeda right then!” He was still laughing, but you mostly were concerned with how you managed to sound like the teacher. _

_ “S-Sorry, was that weird? That was kind of weird, huh?” _

_ “No way!” Hinata chirped up again, practically sparkling with how excited he was. You noted the way he brought his fists up to the air whenever he was pumped. “That was awesome!” _

_ “I’m… glad you thought so.” Shyly rubbing at your neck, you let out a small chuckle and avoided much more eye contact. _

_ “Hey, you want to give me a big powerful speech like that before my next test? I think I could use it.” Tanaka joked, clapping a hand on your back. You jumped at the sudden contact. _

_ “Do you think it’d actually help?!” Hinata wondered aloud. That got Tsukishima to react, frowning, but ever the provoker. _

_ “Only a simpleton would think that.” He remarked. _

 

You sighed in your seat, recalling the events. It was an understatement to admit that you missed them all right then and wanted to be joking around some more. Time was going forward, but it just wasn’t quick enough. Stupid school. Stupid tournament starting during school. Stupid.

When class finally ended, you shot up out of your seat and shoved all your things into your bag, making sure to seal it up before speed walking out the door. From an outsider’s perspective, you must have looked ridiculous, given your inability to run like a normal person would do in a rush. You had to get to that tournament, but there was no need to send yourself back to the operating room just to do it.

Of course, the travel time felt like a million years. Jeez, why did their games in particular have to be so early in the day?  
But finally, you arrived, shoving aside the doors as quickly as your out-of-practice arms could do and hurried along to the bleachers. You were late, you knew that. The second match would be well on its way, if not over.

You could hear the cheering, all the shouts and yelling; And then you could see. The bleachers were rather packed up, all surrounding the various courts. But you didn’t care about the other teams right then, just Karasuno. Your Team.

“Go! One more point!” You heard someone yell. Your eyes instantly shifted over to the scoreboard as you shuffled your way closer to the match. 23-20 with Karasuno in the lead. You let go of a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. They were winning.

But soon, another point was scored for Dateko. They clearly weren’t going down without a fight. As you finally approached the railing on the far corner, Karasuno had hit them back and were at match point.

“Go! One point!” The same voice you heard before shouted again, a girl to your left somewhere. Down below you could see Hinata cheering after his score. A bit of pride swelled in you as you continued to watch. That was… until Hinata hit a serve out of the court.

“Damn it, he needs to work on something other than spikes for once.” You muttered bitterly.

The ball travelled back and forth for awhile, Tsukishima spiking it, but the other team simply saved it. Your grip tightened on the railings as Asahi went for a spike, nearly blowing away the other team’s #2. Still, it was blocked, and you were sure it’d be Dateko’s point, except---

“Noya!” You couldn’t help it, his name just escaped from you as he dove and succesfully sent the ball back to Kageyama.

“Left! One more!” Asahi’s shout was barely heard over the murmur of the crowd. However, there was no missing the way his arm rose as he called that pass. You had heard briefly of the history he had with this team. How he hid and ran after deeming himself unworthy of being Ace. You were so happy for him right then, you probably could’ve cried had there not been so many people nearby to see.

You were a coward once or twice, too. You understood.

So to see him like that, his face still full of determination… it was comforting, in its own odd way.

Kageyama hit the ball to Asahi, but you could see perfectly just how close it was to the net. It was a joust: That #7 versus Asahi. Your stomach twisted up in knots, knowing what would have to happen next.

Dateko pushed it back over and everything began to flow in slow motion.

“Wh--” In a blink of your eye, the ball was up and Noya’s foot extended. “He! He got that with his foot?!” You couldn’t help but audibly exclaim.

“ONE MORE!” Sugawara’s shouts from below surprised you. Never before had you heard him shout with such conviction. Again, Asahi’s hand shot up to call the shot. Your throat tightened. All around the team, you could hear shouts of ‘go!’, driving the Ace forward.

“Go!” You joined in, grip on the railing unable to go any tighter.

Ashai spiked the ball and it bounced until it began to walk to line of the net. Your eyes grew wide until slowly, finally… it fell onto Dateko’s side. Karasuno had won.

An eruption of cheers rang throughout, yourself included in them. It was all but a minute or two that you had been there, but it was the first match you had witnessed in a long, long while. Your heart felt like it was on fire.

Both teams shook hands and you watched as Nishinoya and Hinata animatedly spoke with Asahi, who, despite all his usual meekness, actually looked very… proud. He turned towards the rest of the team, saying something very much out of your listening range, until you just couldn’t take it anymore.

“AZUMANE! NISHINOYA! GREAT JOB!!!” You felt like your lungs were going to give out making sure they could hear you. Sure enough, though, both their gazes rose up to you. Noya began to wave frantically, jumping up and down a bit. Asahi simply gave you a shy smile, complete with a hand behind his neck.

Soon enough, the rest of the team had lined up below the bleachers, everyone clapping for them. They bowed, thanking the audience. You were just about to rush down to see them off when suddenly, as if all at once, everyone’s attention turned to the other court, and you saw Him.

“Oikawa…” You breathed out his name, not wanting to draw attention, and yet feeling drawn to Aoba Johsai’s match. They were demolishing the other team. “So, then… that’ll be it. The stronger foe.”

You became entranced with the match, noting that Karasuno would probably want to watch, too. So you waited for them.

Ennoshita was first to try and greet you, calling out your name, but was soon interrupted by a few other more high-energy individuals.

“DID YOU SEE THE MATCH?!” Hinata called out, followed shortly by Tanaka and Noya who just called out your name, earnestly.

“Whoa there!” You raised both palms in surprise. “I was only able to get here at the very end, but!” With a new-found smile, you looked to all your friends who were slowly taking their seats. “You were amazing out there!”

“Ahahaha! Of course, of course. But you did call out to me and Asahi, so that meant something.” Nishinoya was doing his infamous laugh, fists rested on his hips.

“It… It meant that I saw the final play.” You pointed out quietly. You could see Tsukishima snickering. “Anyway, we can save all that for later. I’m sure you guys have something else you’d rather be paying attention to.” With a jerk of your thumb, you gestured toward the Aoba Johsai match. All three of them immediately settled down, taking a seat. All of the tension dropped from your shoulders as they stopped shouting around you.

“Hey,” Ennoshita softly called for you, patting the seat next to him. “Want a seat?” You graciously took it. There wasn’t any talking between the two of you, just watching with the rest of the team as Aoba Johsai continued to gain point after point over their opponents. You were a little ways away from most of the group, so a lot of their commentary on the match didn’t reach your ears.

“Hey, look, Shoyo!” If you weren’t already able to tell that was Noya just from the shouting, you could also tell by his use of Hinata’s first name. “A TV crew’s here!”

“TV?! Awesome! I want to be on TV, too!”

“Somehow I think that’d just make him nervous…” You whispered to yourself. Ennoshita caught what you said and chuckled.

“Probably because it’d make us all nervous.” He offered up in response.

You hardly diverted your attention long at all, but somehow it seemed Hinata and Noya were yelled at about something and everyone else was laughing. Shoot, you missed something funny!

“Oh.” Ennoshita’s sudden surprise made your attention shift back over to the game, where Aoba Johsai had already won. “They won.” It wasn’t a note of interest or anything, more like… a  statement. Like it was always going to be that way, but everything finally just clicked into place.

“Is it weird for you seeing them like this?” Yamaguchi was leaned forward in his chair, a row behind you. “I mean… not cheering for them and all?”

“Hmm…” He had asked a valid question, but the truth was… you had no idea how you felt. It hadn’t crossed your mind much about how weird everything was. “A little bit, I guess. It’s hard to tell.”

“Oi, don’t ask them too many personal questions, it might make them uncomfortable.” Daichi’s shout caused Yamaguchi to hop a bit in his seat.

“Sorry!” He blurted out.

“It’s fine, I promise. Don’t worry about me!” That was at least the fifth time you had to insist that, but then again, you really didn’t blame them for feeling the need to walk on eggshells with you.

As you went to turn your sights back to Aoba Johsai, you froze.

“What’s wrong?” Ennoshita noticed the change in your posture immediately and followed your line of sight best he could until he saw it, too.

Oikawa was looking directly at you.


	8. Those You Once Knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaa thanks so much for 100+ hits, I super super appreciate it ;v;  
> It's nice to know there's people reading this ahaha
> 
> Also it's hard deciding how to format Texting in a fanfic

The walk back out to the main lobby was a bit tense for you. That hadn’t been a trick of the imagination or something… right? Ennoshita noticed it, too. There was no doubt in your mind that Oikawa had been staring right at you before shaking hands with the other team. Except, that just didn’t make any sense!

“Did you need a ride back?” Sugawara was suddenly next to you as you fell to the back of the grouping.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, if Takeda-sensei isn’t against it.” You muttered that last part nervously, but he was soon waving your worries off.

“Nah, we have room, it’s fine. We’re just going back to school, though, so you’ll have to walk home from there.”

“That’s fine! I already appreciate the ride in the first place!” Jeez, why was it so hard to control the volume of your voice sometimes? “Um, Suga?” You had mentally made the note to call him that.

“Hmm?” He hummed his response, perhaps a bit too happy to have you finally calling him ‘Suga’.

“How long until we’re leaving?”

“Probably not for a little bit, why?” He looked down at you with patient eyes.

“I, uh, need to use the restroom.” You admitted meekly. He laughed at that, nodding his head slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re good. We’ll meet you outside later.” With that you were waved off to go find the bathroom. Perhaps you should have asked for directions from Kiyoko or something first, cause the hallways spiralled on a bit more than you thought.

“Looking for something?” That question alone wouldn’t have spooked you, but the fact that the voice continued on to say your name caused you to whip back around. There, Oikawa stood with Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki. You hadn’t seen them all in what felt like forever. There was no explaining how surreal it felt to have them up this close after just watching their match.

“I’m sorry, do you know me?” The tone of your voice almost came across like you had asked ‘Do I know You’ instead.

“Wh- That’s so mean, of course I know you!” Oikawa reacted ridiculously over the top, much to his teammate’s dismay. Regaining his usual cool-guy composure, he continued on. “You’re a second year. You used to be a wing spiker for the Aoba Johsai Girl’s Volleyball team.”

“Well… You’re not wrong. That doesn’t explain HOW you know me, though.” Bluntness wasn’t your usual approach, but having met him just the once, and with everything you heard about him, you knew you couldn’t give in to his dramatic ways. “We only spoke the one time.”

Oikawa’s face softened up all too quickly. Of course, he was being stupid. You had no idea he had stayed to watch the match that ultimately brought your Volleyball playing career to an unfair end. There was no point in bringing up old wounds, though. Better to focus on what he had planned to ask in the first place.

“I know you, and I think that’s all there is to it. More importantly, though,” The cool demeanor was dropped yet again, his arm frantically raised to point directly at your uniform. “What are you doing at Karasuno?!”

“Attending school.” You shot back, crossing your arms over your chest. You could see Matsukawa and Makki snickering behind him.

“Well I should hope so, but why there?! You should still be at Aoba Johsai!” His shouting was getting a bit on your nerves, if only because you still REALLY needed to use the restroom.

“There was nothing left for me there, Karasuno was closer to home. It’s not some big dramatic deal, ya know? Why are you so upset, anyway?” It was a fair question, and Oikawa knew it.

“I dunno, I guess I was kind of hoping you’d still be around.” The response came out a lot sweeter than you had anticipated. Regardless, he was known to be a bit of a Lady’s Man, so you weren’t going to let yourself react too strongly to any of his charming ways.

It was then that your eyes travelled to his left. Iwaizumi stood just a step behind him, eyes darting around uncertainly. Clearly he had no idea where to let them rest, until finally they landed on you. Your breath stopped for a second, intimidated by his gaze. There was more of a history between the two of you than with Oikawa.

“Hey.” He greeted softly. You nodded back, smiling as best you could.

“So you smile at Iwa-chan, but not at me?!” Oikawa interjected, a pout forming on his face. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes before punching Oikawa in the side.

“C’mon, Trashykawa, we have places to be, let’s stop bothering them.”

“ACK!” He clenched his side, grumbling about the nickname to himself. “Fine, fine. But, hey-” You returned your eyes to his just in time to see his face intensify yet again. “Tell Karasuno that this battle isn’t over. We’ll be seeing you again, I hope.”

With that, he began to walk away, offering a raised hand as goodbye. Matsukawa and Makki went past, both giving their own waves. Iwaizumi lagged behind until finally passing you, a hand slightly out to his side. You glanced down and saw a piece of paper held out to you. Subtly, you took it from him and waited until they were all out of sight before opening it up.

‘Text Me’ It said, his number written out below the words.

“What… augh, I have better things to worry about right now.” You externally groaned, shoving the paper away into your bag and returning to your hunt for the bathroom.

 

* * *

The bus ride back was quiet, most everyone snoring away their exhaustion from the games. You peered out the window, the sun setting in the distance. It was nice, despite everyone being conked out. Just being around them was soothing, like you were actually part of a team again. Kiyoko gently tapped you on the shoulder, getting your attention.

“Are you alright?” She asked in that gentle voice of hers. You weren’t following initially, until she pointed at the slip of paper you were fidgeting with in your hands.

“O-oh! Uh, yeah. This was just…” You avoided her eyes, tucking Iwaizumi’s number back into your bag. “An… old friend gave it to me.” She nodded along to your answer.

“We’ll be getting back soon.” Kiyoko wasn’t much for talking too long. Probably because she realized you weren’t that great at holding a conversation with her without getting all nervous, but she appreciated having someone to sit with anyway.

Suddenly your mind wandered to something Oikawa told you before he left…

_ “Tell Karasuno that this battle isn’t over.” _

Aoba Johsai and Karasuno hadn’t played yet, so what battle did he actually mean? Oikawa had a reputation of being a bit of a Drama Queen, but that didn't seem to connect to his statement.

The bus slowly came to a stop, the sun gone below the horizon line. Takeda stood and went around to wake everyone up, to which you had to witness quite a bit of complaining. You rolled your eyes and made your way out, saying your thanks to Ukai and Takeda for the ride back.

“Hey!” Daichi’s voice startled you. Nevertheless, you turned back to look at him as he got off the bus. “I wanted to thank you for coming.” His smile was affectionate and you could feel yourself getting antsy.

“It was really no problem, s-sorry I couldn’t be there for more.” A nervous laugh escaped you. Daichi shook his head.

“It couldn’t be helped. Walk home safe.” Turning to face the groggy team, he immediately switch back to his usual Captain-speak and shouted something about a meeting.

“Goodbye, guys!” You waved at them all, receiving a lot of sleepy waves back and one large grin from Noya. They were all pretty damn cute when they yawned like that.

Now, the next order of business…  
You reached into your bag and pulled out Iwaizumi’s number again, looking it over.

To: Iwaizumi

_ Hey whyd you need me to text you? _

You considered including your name, but honestly he couldn’t have given out his number like that to that many people, right? He wasn’t Oikawa, after all. To your surprise, his response was instant.

From: Iwaizumi

_ Wanted to be sure you’re alright. _

That sure was… vague. And definitely not what you had been expecting. With a sigh, you quickly typed out your response before turning down your usual path home.

To: Iwaizumi

_ And you needed to stealth deliver me your number for that? _

Honestly what had he been thinking? That method just made you all the more anxious about the whole thing. After all, the only thing he said directly to you that whole time was a simple ‘hey’.

From: Iwaizumi

_ If I had given it to you flat out Oikawa would have pestered you too. I was doing you a favor. _

Okay. He had you there. Still, did he have to sound so blunt about it in the end? To think you decided to text him at all.

To: Iwaizumi

_ Fair. Thanks for that then. And I’m doing fine? I’m not sure what you were asking. _

Where you weren’t close to Oikawa at all, you were only sort of close to Iwaizumi. The two of you only shared a handful of chats whenever he decided to visit the Girl’s Volleyball practice. You usually stayed behind late, practicing your serves. It wasn’t like you were that bad at them, but your control was always rather off, so it didn’t hurt to try and improve your aiming.

He had been walking by one day and heard you, though you still weren’t sure exactly why he figured that meant he should pop in. After some awkward first exchanges (as you were well known for) the two of you chatted back and forth, sometimes about Volleyball, but surprisingly a lot about home and school and various interests. Iwaizumi returned many times after that, collecting the balls you would spike and sharing stories of his own practice with Oikawa.

From: Iwaizumi

_ I dunno. You changed schools. Hows that? Or your leg? Does your mom still work late at her new job? Did you ever get that hat you wanted to buy? I’ve just missed you. _

Your heart felt like it tightened at his text. Like someone had stopped and gave you a swift jab right in the chest. Maybe you weren’t all that close, but you were once friends and you did just kind of… drop off from existence at Aoba Johsai. Even if you weren’t speaking much at all your last half of First Year, he still had every right to miss you.

To: Iwaizumi

_ I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye. _

You answered none of his questions, too preoccupied with making things right between the two of you. He had deserved better.

From: Iwaizumi

_ It’s alright. I get why. Just promise to keep in touch now? _

To: Iwaizumi

_ Of course. _

You didn’t receive a response after that, so you just had to assume he was satisfied with you actually talking to him at all. There was time for catching up later, after Inter High maybe. Oh, right… the tournament. There was no part of you that wanted to admit that maybe, after all of that, it’d be a bit harder to root for Karasuno tomorrow.  
Augh, why did school have to be a thing? You wouldn’t even be able to watch the third match at all. Maybe that was for the best, though. No reason to get all worked up over who’s winning if you can simply hear the results later down the line. You could have probably gotten Kiyoko to send you an update via text later.

You unlocked and opened the door home, flicking the light switch on as you entered. Yeah… your mother did work late still. It’s why you always stayed late at Aoba Johsai and Iwaizumi knew a lot about that at the time.

“These guys need to stop being so damn worried about me all the time…” You grumbled to yourself, heading straight for your room. There were leftovers in the fridge, you internally reminded yourself. Just as you were about to head back to grab them, your phone buzzed in your bag.

From: Ennoshita

_ Hey! Didn’t get to give you a proper goodbye. Thanks again for coming to the match it meant a lot to everyone. Asahi is still getting embarrassed that you shouted his name since Noya keeps pointing it out.  
_ _ Sorry you can’t be there to see us against Aoba Johsai tomorrow. We’ll win for you o(^▽^)o _

You giggled to yourself about the cute emoji.  
Alright, so maybe you were still rooting for Karasuno.


	9. The Fall of the Strong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tHIS SUDDENLY GOT A LOT OF HITS AND SOME KUDOS AND IM SOBBING  
> I appreciate you all reading it ;;v;;
> 
> I just hope I'm managing to write all these characters well ahaha

_ “Hey, you there! Dude just kind of creepily watching, what’s your deal?” You held a volleyball in your hands, an eyebrow raised at the guy whose head you could clearly tell was poking in. He reacted quickly, stepping into more clear view. _

_ “Just checking who was still practicing at this hour. Usually only Oikawa goes this late.” His voice was rougher than you expected, but his face wasn’t showing any hint of anger. “You a first year?” _

_ “Yeah. What about you?” Honestly you knew who he was, you saw him around from time to time, always with that really popular Oikawa guy. On top of that he wasn’t ever around your classes, so that meant he was older. Probably a second year like his friend. _

_ “Second year.” Bingo. Right on the money. “I’m also in Volleyball club.” _

_ “Yeah, I know. I mean, first off I know what all you guys look like, and secondly.” You tossed the ball up lightly, serving it over to the other side. “You’re still wearing your club jacket.” _

_ “Alright, Smartass.” There was some amusement to his voice, you noted. “Why don’t you head home now?” Just as you went to serve another ball, he caught it and held it just out of your reach. _

_ “Could ask you the same thing. I thought Oikawa was the only one who goes this late, so why is it  _ **_you_ ** _ in here?” You teased with a hand on your hip. He smirked, handing you the ball once again. _

_ “I watch after him, whether he likes it or not. Hell, whether I like it or not.” _

_ “Hmm… alright. Acceptable answer.” With a gentle hand, you set the ball back with the others and slowly strolled to the opposite side of the court to gather the rest. He followed not too far behind, reaching for a couple himself. _

_ “Your turn.” He called out to you as he bent down. _

_ “I have no reason to be home right now. It’s empty. I might as well stay and practice a bit.” You reluctantly answered, still forcing a polite smile. He froze, then all of a sudden: _

_ “I guess I’ll stick around more often then.” _

 

Your eyes shot open after your vivid dream, recounting when you met Iwaizumi for the first time. All too slowly, you regained your sense of reality, looking down at your right leg. What a nice dream…  
All the walking you did to school and to the tournament wasn’t so nice, though… you needed more pain meds.

 

* * *

Another class, another anxious waiting period without anyone to talk to. Everything felt like it was going at half-speed, like every word and motion of your life was lagging along just to torment you further. It was painful, in one word. Painful like the dull ache your leg had been giving you for the last few days. All that walking around was starting to catch up, and you briefly considered keeping your weight off it entirely. That, of course, would have caused you to limp, however, and you weren’t quite up for looking exactly like the kind of person with a sports injury.

You  **were** the kind of person with a sports injury, but that was besides the point.  
You briefly wondered how everyone was doing, back at the gymnasium…

 

* * *

Iwaizumi was up next for the spike, just after Oikawa finished his apologies to a seemingly nervous Kindaichi. He took a deep breath and waited for the toss, his rather stoic face not giving much away to his emotions at the time. Oikawa always knew what was on his mind, though. It was just the kind of connection one got after more than six years of playing Volleyball together. So when Iwaizumi spiked the ball with quite a bit of force, he decided to prod.

“Iwa-chan, you sure you’re not trying too hard?” He used a rather condescending tone. “You don’t have to try and show off. None of the girls will be looking at you, anyway.”  
That was the final straw. Iwaizumi went to lunge at Oikawa’s dumb, stupid face and give it a real beating, but he was held back.

“C-Calm down! We’re right before a match!”

“Let go of me Kindaichi!” Damn first year, always got in his way. He hated it. Hated the way Oikawa always managed to get under his skin. Hated that he could tell exactly what was on his mind. Hated that he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Now’s not a good time! See? Everyone’s staring!” Kindaichi was still struggling to keep the upperclassman back.

“I don’t care!!! I’m going to hit him!” He was stressed as much as he hated to admit it. And goddamn if he didn’t want to take it out on Oikawa’s face.

“Hey! What are you saying?! Iwaizumi, calm down!” But he didn’t want to calm down. Because Oikawa was right. No one was going to be looking at him anyway. You weren’t going to be there and even if you were…  
He felt gross being so possessive over you when really he had no right. There were just so many bubbling, jealous feelings that twisted up inside his gut at the thought of Oikawa making any moves on you. But he had no right to be that way, had no right to tell you to choose him, had no right to tell Oikawa to leave you alone.

After it was all said and done, Oikawa was still his best friend. And deep down somewhere, he trusted him.

* * *

As class wrapped up, your phone having not received any notifications from anyone on the team, you assumed they were still in a game. Maybe you could make it? But…  
You packed up your things and closed your bag just before glancing down at your leg. If just speed-walking there last time had you in this much pain, there was no way you could repeat that again. Yamaguchi already fussed over you a lot since you revealed your secret, you didn’t need him going into overdrive and alerting everyone else.

The way things were, you could try and make it over there at a slower more gentle pace, in which case you’d be all but guaranteed to miss the first match and risk arriving after a loss. On the other hand, you could just not go at all and hope with all your heart for good news. Kiyoko had said she would text you the Aoba Johsai results.

With a heavy sigh, you slung your bag over your shoulder and decided you could weigh your options out as you left. As the gate came into view, though, you received a text.

From: Iwaizumi

_ I’m sorry. _

Cryptic. Vague. Ominous…  
Those were the words you first thought of when reading his message. Your feet stopped below you, all of your weight now shifting over to your left side to prevent any further soreness. Suddenly, it all clicked in your mind and you felt your stomach twisting up in knots. If Iwaizumi was able to text you right now…

Another text alert halted your thoughts, and you hurried to open it.

From: Kiyoko

_ We lost. _

There it was, plain as day. Karasuno had lost the match to Aoba Johsai. Your heart dropped, your hands unable to type out any kind of response to either texter. Until,

To: Iwaizumi

_ You’re not the kind to apologize. Be proud you won. I’m happy for you guys!!! _

Just because you weren’t rooting for him, didn’t mean he hadn’t earned that win with his team. Besides, you hadn’t pegged him as the apologizing sort.

From: Iwaizumi

_ Had to keep it short, Oikawa was looking. Meant I was sorry, but we won’t ever hold back. I just hope you can handle the aftermath. Thanks for the grats, wished you were here. _

The aftermath. Of course…  
The team would be devastated. You… were devastated.

You lingered around the gate for a while, just staring down at your phone as other students passed by. It was surreal, just knowing that it was all over so quickly. You hadn’t even had the chance to see a full game and suddenly it was the end of everything.  
Lost in thought, you hardly noticed when your phone began ringing in your hand. Kiyoko was calling you.

“Hello?” You started off uncertain, walking away from the gate to take the call in a more secluded area.

“You didn’t respond. I wanted to be sure you got my message.” Her voice sounded… Rough. Had she been crying? Your heart sank even more than you thought it could.

“I did.” You kept it simple, not wanting to give away your own emotions on the matter. Kiyoko went on to explain the match to you. In the background, you could hear her turning pages in her Manager’s notebook, reading off various stats and moments. The bottom line, however, was that while it became close, Aoba Johsai was still just the better team.

With a fist clenched at your side, you listened intently. At some point your mind began to fuzz, and all of the details blurred together into one painful pill to swallow.  
This match was so important to all of them, especially Kageyama and Hinata. You knew the latter loved Volleyball with all his heart, he was set on becoming invincible at Kageyama’s side and now… his first bitter loss. One that couldn’t have been avoided. And for the third years… It was common to drop club activities in pursuit of studying.

“One last thing,” Kiyoko’s voice drew your attention once more. “It might be best… if you weren’t there when we got back.” Just when you thought your heart was at the lowest point it could be, it sank lower.

“Oh…” Was all you could say.

“They were very determined to win for your sake, too. They need time to recover and seeing you might---”

“I got it. Don’t worry.” Your voice cracked in a very obvious way as you tried to fight back the tears you were feeling. “I’ll… talk to you later, I should be walking home now, bye.”

“Are you sure---” You hung up on her before she could ask those words you hated so much. ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’. They made you sick to the stomach. After the injury, that was all you ever heard from people and while you could appreciate the concern, it became too much. Like no one saw you as anything more than a sad kid who had to quit volleyball.  
God damn it, of course you weren’t alright.

As you entered your house, ready to just sink into your bed for the next five hours and say nothing, you instinctively reached for the light switch, only to find it was already on.

“Hi, honey, I’m home early, how was---” Your mother came out front, just in time to see the redness of your eyes and the scowl you wore. “Honey?” She asked in a soft voice. You stumbled forward right into her arms, letting go of the sobs you held so desperately onto. She didn’t ask, and you didn’t tell. Both of you knew you just needed to let it out, just for a little bit.

 

* * *

Recovery took time, you knew that better than anyone. So of course your plan was to leave them be for awhile, let them sort through the emotions they were feeling and you could come in later wearing a smile, because that’s what they’d want.  
What you didn’t account for was, yet again, for someone to be standing on the other side of the alleyway that you always walked through to get to the main road.  
What you doubly didn’t account for was it being Nishinoya.

“Nishinoya? What are you---” His usual grin dropped and you quickly made the correction. “Noya. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see you, of course!” There was his grin again, bright and welcoming as ever. Though you weren’t exactly sure why he was still able to aim one at you full blast, especially after yesterday… “Wanna walk?”

“Sure. I’d be glad to.”

It started off a bit quieter than you’d like. Truth be told, it was just downright unnerving to consider how silent it was standing beside him, the always loud and excited one. The next scariest person to walk in silence with would have been Hinata, but only because after a vicious defeat, he  _ would _ be quiet.

“Things’ll be tense for a bit. Have you talked to the others at all?” The sudden question made you pause.

“No. Just Kiyoko. She said everyone was taking it pretty hard, so she thought I should keep my distance and give you guys some room.”

“Ahahaha! Of course she said that. Some of the guys would be pretty torn up if they had to face you right now!” Noya shook his head slightly, as if saying ‘those goofs’ or something equally as light hearted.

“I hope it’s not like, out of line for me to say, but… you’re taking all of this really well.” You thought for a second you might have hit a nerve, the way Noya whipped his head over to look at you.

“It’s not my first big loss. I’m not happy, obviously. But I know we’re able to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward.” He began rather matter-of-factly. “Shoyo and the others just need more time.”

“Time. Yeah.” You muttered, mostly to yourself. Sometimes, there’s really nothing in the world to be said that can make you feel better and you just needed some time. You understood that.

“Setter. Libero. Ace.” Noya was staring forward again, smiley brightly at the school in the distance. “A team has a lot of positions, and we each have to be proud of what part we get to play! So you, too, okay?! I don’t want you coming to a practice later all moping around! Ahahaha!”

“Me… too? I’m not exactly on the team.” Your eyebrows furrowed at his demands, not sure if he was thinking before speaking.

“Sure you are!!!” There was a moment where you just wanted to roll your eyes at him, until you looked over, his face beaming up at you. Noya stopped walking to turn his full body towards you, eyes focused and unblinking. Then, without a hint of irony, he said, “You’re the heart of the team.”

Your face grew warm, eyebrows probably way more up your face than they belonged. Nishinoya seemed to love it, though.

“Ahahaha! You’re so cute when you blush, wait til Ryu hears about this!!!” He began to pat your shoulder perhaps a bit too hard. Your mind was officially frazzled, unsure how you were supposed to act in response to all this sudden attention he was showing you.

“Th-Thank you? I guess…” This caused Nishinoya to laugh again and you briefly felt a twinge of warmth in your heart. It was no secret that he and Tanaka had a soft spot for you, but being called ‘cute’ was next level and you were ready to hit pause.

“The gate’s just right there, so I’m gonna go on ahead! Keep an eye on Ennoshita and any of the others, okay? See you soon!” Waving with both his hands above his head, Noya left you to walk the remaining twenty or so feet by yourself, probably concerned that he overwhelmed you. With him gone, you felt the tension leave your shoulders and let out a single way-too-drawn-out sigh.

“Heart of the team, huh?”


	10. All the Best Days Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I call this chapter: Half Of The Writing Is Taken Straight From The Episode
> 
> and I hope that you guys don't mind that :'D

You hovered around the entrance to class for a while, knowing full well that the Volleyball Team didn’t have morning practice. Which meant there was at least a 20% chance Ennoshita or Narita were inside already. It was early, and you were always early, deciding it best to give yourself plenty of time for the walk to school since you couldn’t ever run to make it. Nishinoya was still up in time to meet you halfway, so… maybe that was a 30% chance that anyone else on the team would still arrive way too early.

Physically shaking your head to rid of your nerves, you figured enough was enough and braved the entrance. To your distinct relief, it was empty. There was something easier about waiting for Ennoshita to come in on his own than walk into a room he would already be in.  
Setting your bag down, your eyes travelled to the window, noting the emptiness of the school. Anyone there that early was usually in a club or a teacher. You, were neither.

_ “Sure you are!!! You’re the heart of the team!” _

Nishinoya’s words came to the front of your thoughts, causing your hand to instinctively rest where your heart is. He considered you a part of them… and even if no one else on the team thought so, that was someone who did. He cared about you to the same extent as his teammates, going so far as to try and cheer you up after they were the ones who lost. Damn, why did he have to be so cool?

You settled down in your seat, working away mindlessly at some homework and studying. It was probably the best use of your time.  
Students began to enter the room later on, but you chose not to give yourself the anxiety of checking every time for Ennoshita. Instead, you remained focused, even as the murmurs grew louder and the light outside brighter. Until, just on urge, just on impulse, you glanced up and saw him.

When your gazes met, it was like all that noise in the background washed away, like everything itself slowed until you could only hear your heartbeat and see the look in his eyes. You expected something sadder, but he only looked at you like he was still ready to fight anything. Wordlessly, he approached, setting one hand on your desk and leaning down.

“Next time, I promise.” It came out a whisper, his voice hardly audible above everyone else. “And the time after that. Until we win.”

You simply nodded, too taken aback to say anything in response. Satisfied, Ennoshita took his seat behind you, and in what felt like a split second, class was beginning. You tried to ignore the warmth that attacked your face from having him so close.

 

* * *

You usually ate lunch with Ennoshita and Narita, but they excused themselves, saying they had to talk to the other second years. You understood, of course you did, it wasn’t your place to be with them when you weren’t witness to the match yesterday.

When lunch ended, however, Ennoshita returned to pass your desk with a smile on his face. The usual one, complete with tired eyes and a soft glow to it. You wanted to audibly exclaim your excitement, but kept quiet, choosing instead to wave at him.

“Sorry for ditching you.” He started off, pausing at your desk. “But hey, how would you like to come to practice today?”

 

* * *

You were surprised, to say the least, when Ennoshita told you what the other second years discussed over lunch. And then you were happy, just inexplicably happy that they all wanted to practice after school, despite it being cancelled. There was no hesitation to tagging along, waiting just outside the clubroom for them all to change. All the while outside, however, you could distinctly hear Hinata and Kageyama shouting inside the gym.  
Stress relief, you had to remind yourself. Everyone had to scream sometime. Honestly, you could go for a good scream right then.

“Sorry for the wait.” Ennoshita left the clubroom, pulling on his jacket and lightly smiling at you.

“Alright!!! Let’s do this, damn it!” Tanaka shouted, high fiving Noya. They both turned to you expectantly until you finally raised up your hands for them to high five.

Together, all six of you walked down, stumbling onto an interesting scene. It seemed Kiyoko had beat you there, already scolding Hinata and Kageyama for all their shouting.

“Kiyoko, you’re as beautiful as ever!” Tanaka started with Nishinoya following soon after with his own,

“We’ve come to see you!”

“We’ll follow you forever!!!” They sang in unison, charging forward.

You stayed back with Narita, Kinoshita, and Ennoshita to just watch as the other two leapt at the manager, only to have her duck and them to go flying through the other open door.

“Don’t get hurt!” Ennoshita called after them, taking a single step forward. Hinata looked over from where he stood.

“I thought you all had today off…” He plainly stated.

“Then why are you here?” There was a hint of amusement to Ennoshita’s question, unmistakably.

“Heya!” Suddenly from not that far down, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima entered the gymnasium. The former dashed on in excitedly, though still carrying that air of meekness to him.

“Hey.” Always with the flat-toned greetings, you noted at Tsukishima’s choice of entry. Turning your attention away from his, though, you saw Tanaka and Nishinoya returning, scuffed up to high hell. Yeesh, those two needed to work on some landing strategies or something.

“Now we’re just waiting for the third years.” Nishinoya was first to speak up, face more serious than you were rightfully used to.

“But there wasn’t club today in the first place.” Ennoshita’s gaze fell to the floor.

“Oi, oi, oi! There’s no way the third years are going to quit!” Tanaka insisted, his hands flailing in front of him in an odd, yet endearing way. You wanted to believe he was right, but with their studies being so important… you had to wonder.

“Huh?” Hinata’s eyes grew at the last exchange. “What do you mean the third years…” Whipping his head around towards Kiyoko, he continued on. “The third years are staying, right? They’re still going to the spring tournament, right?” Everything grew silent.

Suddenly, you thought you could hear something. Footsteps?

“Isn’t that…?” You whispered, turning your attention once more to the door across the gym. Sure enough,

“Crap, hurry.” That was Sugawara’s voice. And soon, you saw Sugawara himself, along with the other two third years.

“Yeah. We are.” Kiyoko’s soft voice drew your attention once more. Hinata looked on top of the world, a drastic difference to what he felt just a minute ago or so.

Tanaka came forward to scold the third years for being late, to which Sugawara could only smile and say “Let’s go to the Spring Tournament!”  
Needless to say, everyone felt a newfound rush of excitement and determination. The gym echoed the sentiments, bouncing the yells off the walls and cycling right back to the group. Quickly, they all rushed off to set up the court, but you sought out someone in particular.

“Suga!” You called out, stopping him from his retrieving of the balls.

“Hm?” Again, he hummed out his inquiry, looking like he was so damn happy to hear you say his name.

“I never got to thank you.” You started off, earning a rather perplexed look from the other. “Back when… I wasn’t doing so well… you told me something. That you’d return to me all the feelings Volleyball gave me.” Shifting your weight onto your left leg, you continued on. “I’ve not been so lucky in my life. And because of that, I felt like there was no way to feel the same as when I played with my team.”

Sugawara was listening intently, face stoic, but reassuring. He wanted to understand you better, more than anything, so he couldn’t help but hang onto your every word. Anything… he wanted you to give him anything right then, anything that he could use to make you happy.

“But then I saw you guys. Out there, on the court, putting your heart into every last second of the game. I wasn’t there for more than a minute or two, and yet…” You trailed off, much like your eyes had managed to do. With a quick huff, you focused on Suga’s face. “I felt like I had been there the whole time, like I was on that court with you all, fighting alongside you. I’ve never experienced that before. So, thank you.”

At first, you wondered if you broke him. He just looked at you like you had said the most shocking thing in the world. And then he laughed. And then you were suddenly held in his arms and had no idea what to do.

“Never leave this team ever, please!” He was so full of giddiness, he hardly noticed he was clinging onto you a little bit too tightly.

“OI! SUGA! NO FAIR!” Tanaka’s shout could be heard from the total other side of the court. Sugawara let go of you, suddenly flustered.

“Sorry! I just! I wasn’t thinking!” He profusely apologized, bowing multiple times. You weren’t wholly focused on that, though. Instead your mind replayed his words over and over, comparing them to what Noya said at the start of the day. Not in title or anything, but you were a part of the team.  
And nothing felt better than that.

 

* * *

Coach Ukai eventually showed up, giving a small speech for what was to come. There was still one more shot for nationals and this time… they’d be there to grip onto it and never let go. After all the pain they felt having lost, you looked around at all their faces and fully believed… they could do it.  
Daichi stood at the end, proudly proclaiming the very belief you held onto in your heart; That they’d make it through this time. Everyone cheered, Tanaka even going so far as to life Noya up into the air. You couldn’t help but laugh as the Libero let it happen.

As evening drew close, the club was released to head home. Morning practices would resume starting tomorrow. Ennoshita called for you at the end, asking to walk with you home. (In fact he made it very clear he was walking  _ with _ you, not just walking you home. One had a different connotation he was certainly avoiding.)

“Of course! I’ll be waiting right here.” You told him cheerfully. He nodded back, rushing off to change. “How many times have I told you, you don’t have to rush!” Your shout was easily ignored, though, as he made no motion to recognize your voice.

“How cute.” Tsukishima startled you, leaning up against the gym’s doorway with Yamaguchi right beside him as per usual.

“Holy crap, don’t scare me like that. You’re all spooky when it’s dark out.” You glared lightly, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him. To your disappointment, he simply gestured towards your partly open backpack.

“Is your leg bothering you?” He asked simply. At first you had no idea what he was talking about, until you craned your head to see your pain meds at the top of your junk in your bag.

“Shit.” You muttered, shoving the bottle down and sealing your bag the rest of the way.

“That doesn’t answer the question.” You didn’t need him to tell you that.

“Is it doing alright, do you need someone to lean on?” Yamaguchi suddenly interjected, face full of concern.

“No, it’s fine. I just… walked on it a bit too much the other day. And can you guys keep it down?” You scanned the area just to be sure none of the other team members were still out walking.

“We’re not here to give away your secret.” Tsukishima stepped forward, now way too close for comfort. “But if you’re not careful, you’ll be doing that on your own. Take care of yourself.” With that, he sauntered off. You half expected Yamaguchi to wordlessly follow after him, but instead,

“I’ll catch up, Tsukki!” He called out to his taller friend, who simply rose a hand in acknowledgment. “Sorry, I had something I wanted to say still…” You noted the entire demeanor change. He was nervous around you.

“What’s up?” You also changed your demeanor, trying hard to give off a more relaxed vibe in hopes that it was contagious.

“I think… well…” He just couldn’t settle his gaze on any one location, hand rubbing at the back of his neck uneasily. “He might not show it, but… Tsukki likes having you around. A-And I do, too! So, uh… I guess what I want to say is… look after yourself. We get you don’t want to tell everyone, yet, so I think cause we’re the only ones who know, we just worry more. Cause we care and all.” He flashed you a smile, finally making eye contact. You flushed at his words, glad to be under the cover of darkness.

“Thanks, Yamaguchi…” You were talking a lot quieter than you’d have liked. “I don’t mean to make you guys worry, though.”

“I know! I didn’t mean it like that! I just, I dunno, figured you might want to know we’re here if you need something. You’re not in this alone…”

All this time, you had been. Ever since it happened, you were always walking alone, always turning down help, always worried about the inconvenience you’d be to others. Your injury was your burden to bare, your weight to carry…

“I---” You weren’t sure what you were actually going to say, but it was soon interrupted by Ennoshita jogging your way and calling out your name. You sighed, waving back with a smile. “Sorry, Yamaguchi, I should be going. But thank you, and tell Tsukishima that, too!” He frowned, but nodded regardless.

“Ready to go?” Ennoshita asked, casting a bit of a sideways glance to the other boy.

“Yeah. See ya, Yamaguchi. Take care!” You gave him one last wave goodbye, Ennoshita mimicking your movements.

 

* * *

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone you’re friends with Oikawa and Iwaizumi.” Ennoshita was glaring at you, hands in his pockets. You rolled your eyes.

“Okay, first off: Oikawa is not my friend. He’s not all that bad, but I don’t really know him. And second off: I didn’t really have a good chance to tell you guys about Iwaizumi…” Your defense wasn’t exactly that solid, but it got Ennoshita to ease up on you.

“Fine, fine. Does this mean you can get us top secrets about their training?” The earlier glare was now replaced with what one might describe as a smirk crossed with a puppy-dog beg. You snorted, shaking your head.

“No way. I couldn’t betray my dear friend like that! This is my old school we’re talking about!”

“You don’t have to act so offended, I was only kidding.”

“Who knew Chikara Ennoshita was secretly so mischievous?” You teased back, a hand brought up to your chin in thought. You expected some kind of big retort from him, but he remained still. Little did you know, had it not been so dark, you could have seen the way his face turned pink as you used his first name. _ Idiot _ , he thought to himself.  _ It was your full name, it didn’t mean anything at all. _

You suddenly stopped at your usual split off point and turned to look at him. It was such a short amount of time ago in the grand scheme of things, but when you looked at him compared to when he first walked you home months ago… he seemed a bit different.

“Well this is---”

“Before you go…” He interrupted you, to your surprise. He was usually the kind to wait before speaking. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off, I just…” Yeah, there was a bit of the old Ennoshita still. “Next time we have a match, we’re definitely going to bring you, okay?”

The concentration on his face without any context felt… kind of funny. You giggled, one hand resting on your bag.

“Yeah, alright. Kind of hard to do when I’m not on the team.” You reminded him. “But, hey, if you figure it out, let me know! I’ll see you tomorrow!” You turned on your heel, walking down the alleyway. Ennoshita watched with those same determined eyes until you turned another corner and disappeared from sight.

“I’ll find a way.” He said to himself. “And one day, I’ll be stronger, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END OF SEASON ONE


	11. What's Going on Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no update yesterday, but hope no one minded too much ;;v;;  
> Welcome to season 2 where everything's out in the open and you've got way too many guys pining after you for a variety of reasons *Peace Sign*

“I think you’re in love with them.” Narita haphazardly shoved another clump of rice into his mouth, sitting cross legged on the floor of Ennoshita’s room. Said owner of said room, was not happy to hear that.

“Stop being ridiculous.” He snapped back, clutching onto his pillow much like an elementary student would at a sleepover.

“Would you like  **my** expert opinion?” Kinoshita gestured towards himself dramatically.

“Yes, if you would.”

“You’re probably in love with them.”

“Nevermind, get out of my house.” Ennoshita threw the pillow he was previously holding, aiming directly at the other’s face. To his disappointment, Kinoshita caught it, grinning all the while.

“C’mon, it’s obvious. You two are always spending time together, you walk them home, and now you’re asking us what it means when you can’t breath when someone talks to you.” The size of Kinoshita’s grin only grew as he presented each piece of evidence. In turn, Ennoshita’s glare only grew more intense.

“He has a point, I mean, remember the first day of class? We had practice, and usually you’re Mister Punctual! But you wanted to talk to them first.” Another mouthful of rice found its way to Narita, who was content just stating facts all day.

“That doesn’t count. They were new and they were nervous. I suddenly can’t be nice to someone without ulterior motives now?” Another stern defensive statement came from Ennoshita, who at that point was ready to kick both his friends out the door.

“This is love we’re talking about. S’not about ulterior motives, it’s about wanting to make someone happy cause that’s all you want for them.” Kinoshita nodded at his words, as if he had just let out the most exquisite poem and graced their ears with his wisdom. Ennoshita wasn’t impressed, however. “Hey, hey, calm down. You’re the one who asked.”

It was true, he had asked for their opinions. Ennoshita wasn’t usually the type to get so caught up in feelings like that, he was more focused on school and volleyball. You weren’t technically either of those things, although… you were a part of both. Was that the connection?  
With a sigh, he shook his head and fell back onto his bed, eyes cast toward the ceiling. What if he was in love with you? What was he supposed to do about that?

“This is the worst…” He groaned, mostly to himself.

 

* * *

“I know you’ve been hiding something from me, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa came up from behind, his eyes narrowed and lips set to a pout. Iwaizumi simply glared back, pocketing his phone without looking. He had been texting you again today, given that it was Sunday and all. What he hadn’t thought through was the fact that Oikawa was going to be with him the whole time.

“Hm?” He decided to play-dumb, a good first line of defense. After all, it was true. He was hiding  _ you _ from him, in a manner of speaking. “The hell are you going on about?”

“Iwa-chan~! You know I can always see when something’s up with you. You always make it so obvious.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, so can you back off?” Of course Oikawa knew something was wrong. He always knew, he could always tell, he was always able to notice the smallest details and use them against people.

“Fine, fine. But I have my eye on you.” He finally took a step away, hands on his hips.

“Is that a threat, Shittykawa?” Iwaizumi turned to look at the setter, face contorted up in the most threatening way he could manage. There was real irritation behind it all, but perhaps he was still exaggerating a bit. Oikawa retracted quickly, arms raised over his face protectively.

“Sc-Scary!” He squealed. “I haven’t said anything about them at all for a long time, I was hoping you’d finally tell me you were texting them!!!”

“It’s been three days.” Iwaizumi reminded him gruffly.

“You didn’t deny that you’re texting them, so it’s true, huh?” Oikawa ceased his cowering, grinning instead.

“You never said a name.” He was still fighting this, walking on ahead without his friend. Oikawa sighed, before elaborating that, yeah, of course he meant you. Iwaizumi had no response.

“Oh, Iwa-chan.” Another over the top sigh left the Setter. “I don’t know what you think I’m going to do.”

“I think you’re going to do what you always do.”

“And what’s that, exactly?”

“Be a dumbass. Charm them. Fall in love, except this time with someone who’s as obsessed with Volleyball as you are.” His head was slumped forward now, shoulders tensed. Oikawa paused for a moment, noting and thinking about each word his friend just said.

It was true, Oikawa had a way with people that just made them love him. He once had a girlfriend, even, but she wasn’t exactly keen on his spending hours and hours honing his skills. They broke up, and he chose instead to enjoy all the attention, no strings attached. You were immediately different when you had first met, though…

 

_ “Hey, hey, we don’t need you boys here messing up our focus. We have a match soon.” One of your teammates called out to Iwaizumi and the others. He was about to apologize when Oikawa stepped to the front of the group. _

_ “Sorry, sorry! We just wanted to wish you all luck!” He sang, receiving all the attention in just a split second. The entire atmosphere shifted. _

_ “Well, I… guess that’s alright.” _

_ You weren’t paying the most attention in the world, much more caught up in your own thoughts and actions. This match was important, like every match before it and every one after. You wanted to win, to play more matches, to see stronger and more interesting foes. But soon, a teammate passed you, tapping your shoulder as they urged you to go talk to the boy’s team. With a turn on your heel, you looked back at the grouping and noted Iwaizumi, glaring heavily at his friend Oikawa. You knew a lot about that guy, just from the stories Iwaizumi told you.  
_ _ There was no denying he was attractive, but you wondered about his personality to some extent. Regardless, you followed the crowd so to speak and approached. _

_ “Heya, Iwaizumi.” You greeted him with a smile, one he returned easily. Oikawa of course noticed this and grew interested. “How’d your last match go?” _

_ “We won, easily.” Oikawa interjected to your slight annoyance. “Iwa-chan, who’s this?” _

_ “I can introduce myself, you know…” You muttered in irritation. Still, you gave your name and year, without so much as a spark in your eye for the older boy. This just fascinated him. You were clearly more invested in whatever was on your mind. _

_ “It’s wonderful to meet you, I’m Toru Oikawa.” _

_ “Yeah, I know.” You shot back. Iwaizumi snickered at that, having received a pretty similar greeting from you before. “Sorry to cut things short, but I have a bit more practicing I want to do before the match. If you’ll excuse me.” You bowed, excusing yourself to return to your work. Oikawa just watched you jog away in silent contemplation. _

_ “Hey, Iwa-chan… you guys go on ahead, I think I want to watch this match.” _

_ “We have more important matches to watch, dumbass.” Iwaizumi spat back, trying not-so-subtly to remind Oikawa that they were going to watch their next opponents play soon. _

_ “I know, I know, but you guys can fill me in later.” Oikawa held up two fingers, grinning inauthentically. Iwaizumi glared in response. _

_ “Stop that face, it pisses me off.” _

 

* * *

“Hey, Noya… can I ask you something?” Asahi nervously started, arms crossed over the railing he leaned against. Nishinoya stood beside him, smiling.

“Course!”

“You like them, right? I-I mean… like-like them…” They had been talking about you, Nishinoya recounting the way you blushed when he called you the heart of the team. When he didn’t receive an immediate response, Asahi regretted his asking at all.

“I do.” Nishinoya replied simply. “Hell, if they asked I’d tell them flat-out!” He turned to the taller boy, fists resting on his hips in a display of confidence.

“Huh?! That’s scary… how do you have that much confidence?” Asahi muttered weakly, his body now facing the other. There was still one hand left on the railing, however, and its grip was tightening.

“How do you, the Ace, not have that much confidence?!” Noya growled back before bursting out in one of his powerful laughs.

“I-It’s not that easy!” Soon enough he was facing away again, clinging to the railing a bit too much. “Besides, you have practice with Kiyoko… actually---”

“How can I say I like them when I still like Kiyoko?” The Libero knew exactly what was coming next, it was a question he himself had thought about. Which is why he also had an answer once Asahi nodded as if to say ‘yeah that’. “Kiyoko is still beauty and perfection itself, but…” The wind began to blow, Noya’s blonde streak blowing with it.

“But?” Asahi urged him to continue, brows furrowed.

“They’re different… They’re radiant and perfect in a whole other meaning.”

“I… see.”

Kiyoko was something unobtainable in Nishinoya’s eyes, although he’d never say it aloud. He respected and admired her, but there was never a connection. With you, it was easy to talk and you always spoke back. You never once ignored him or took him as a joke, even without seeing him on the court. There was no denying he fell for the way you laughed at his energy, but still maintained that air of mutual respect.

“Asahi… if you like them, too, the way Ryu and I do, then you have to promise me something.”

“H-HUH?! Who said anything about ME liking them!” He defended himself, way too nervous to admit the truth.

“Ahahaha! Just promise me that you won’t back down!” Nishinoya ignored his friends claim of otherwise, knowing full well that he was also interested in you.

 

* * *

“It still hasn’t stopped bothering me…” Sugawara zipped up his club jacket, speaking his thoughts out loud. It was the next day after school, Daichi and Sugawara had been first to the clubroom.

“Hm?” Daichi inquired lightly as he pulled his own jacket on.

“Ah, sorry. Just thinking out loud.”

“I can see that. So think out loud to me, then.” With a rough pat on the back, Daichi quite physically forced his friend to speak up.

“Alright, alright! I just… I was thinking about how they were when they first came to a practice.” He admitted, heading to leave the clubroom. Daichi wasn’t far behind, listening intently. “They looked so scared. Like they didn’t want to be anywhere near us, but… I caught a glimpse of their eyes and it felt like that was exactly where they were supposed to be.”

“I think I know what you mean. I saw it, too, when I first spoke to them.”

“They used to play for Aoba Johsai… it’s been months now and we still don’t know why they ever quit.”

“We shouldn’t pry into their personal life, we saw how that went with Yamaguchi and them.” It was true, you took to avoiding the club when Yamaguchi tried to get you to open up. He wasn’t even forceful or anything, it was just that at the time you couldn’t face up to the fear in your heart. “If they want to tell us, they will.”

“I know that!” Sugawara shot back, a bit whinier than he’d have liked. “Still… the way they looked… I can’t get it out of my mind. I want to help them, with whatever it is that keeps holding them back.”

“Suga…” Daichi warned. The other boy put up both his hands in surprise.

“I’m not saying I’m going to start hounding them with questions, really! It’s just… hard to let things go like that.” With a sigh, Sugawara opened the sliding door to the gymnasium and switched into his gym shoes.

“Is this because of what we talked about last night?” Daichi wondered, mimicking the motions of his teammate.

 

_ “I think everyone’s a little bit in love with them.” Sugawara had mused aloud, laying back on Daichi’s floor with his studying cast aside. The other boy raised an eyebrow at the remark. _

_ “I’m not.” Was all he said. _

_ “You knew what I meant!!! Jeez, I try to make this a team bonding thing and the captain goes and ruins it all.” _

_ “So are you included in this ‘team bonding’?” With a wide smirk, he continued to tease, thinking maybe this was better than studying after all. _

_ “Shut up, it was a dumb thought, let’s just keep working!” His face was undeniably red. _

_ “No, no, as Captain I’m deeply interested in the well-being of my team.” _

_ “Sh-shut up!” _

 

“H-H-Huh?! N-No why would you--- I mean--- Augh let’s just get the court set up.” Absolutely at a loss for words, Sugawara shook his head and went for the equipment, choosing to ignore any further inquiries from his Captain.

As time drew on, more and more team members arrived for practice, with Ennoshita being one of the last ones.

“Where’s your date~?” Tanaka took the first chance he had at teasing him, since it wasn’t often anymore that you weren’t within ear shot.

“What have I told you about saving your provoking for other people? And they’re still in the classroom, they had something to ask the teacher.” Ennoshita explained quickly, jogging in to catch up on the warm-ups.

“You didn’t say they weren’t your date!” Tanaka called after him. There was a part of Ennoshita that wanted to turn around and knee the Spiker right in his side. Probably because his talk with Narita and Kinoshita was so recently and he still wasn’t done fully sorting through his emotions yet. Augh. Stupid feelings.

“Sugawara, what the hell are you doing on Takeda-sensei’s tablet?” Daichi was glaring strongly. He would have thrown a volleyball at his face if it wasn’t for the fact that Suga was holding a piece of delicate technology in his hands.

“I’m sorry, he let me borrow it, just one more second, I’ll do an extra run around the court and everything!” He promised in the span of one breath. Just when Daichi was going to raise his voice even more, he noted the pained expression that crossed the other’s face. “D-Daichi… I know I promised I wouldn’t pry, but… I think you want to see this…” Wordlessly, the Captain came and stood to look over at the screen. Sugawara had searched your name, and at the top of the results read the tagline: ‘Promising Aoba Johsai Player’s Volleyball Career Cut Short Due to Injury’

“So… that’s why.” Daichi breathed out, not noting the way Tsukishima was looking at them.

“They obviously didn’t want us finding out for a reason.” He deadpanned, eyes narrowed in irritation. Yamaguchi could tell something was wrong, so he jogged over only to have his breath hitch, seeing the article the third years were looking at.

“Oh no…” He gasped, not sure what to do, but internally freaking out all the same. “Tsukki!” He looked to his friend for guidance as he always did.

“Why don’t you give Takeda-sensei his tablet back and say nothing before anyone else notices.” His steady voice was showing more emotion than he was proud with, but perhaps that would get the point across. He never understood fully why you were so intent on keeping up appearances, hell your passion for the sport in general pissed him off more than he’d care to admit, but the way you cried that day…  
He never wanted to see that again.

“Notices what???” Hinata popped up out of nowhere, and before anyone could say anything, he had already read the article title and saw your name. “They… they’re hurt?!” He shouted loud enough to garner everyone else’s attention.

“What’s going on, damn it?!” Tanaka rushed over, snatching the device from Sugawara’s hands, and therefore taking any chance of your secret being kept, away from you. Everyone who hadn’t already seen was peering over Tanaka’s shoulder, taking in every word on the screen.

“Tch.” Tsukishima faced away from them, furious. Mostly at himself for not doing a better job to keep his and Yamaguchi’s promise. Ennoshita was one of the last to read it, eyes suddenly feeling the pressure of empathetic tears pushing forward.

“Why didn’t they say anything…? Why didn’t they tell me? Why couldn’t they just explain they couldn’t play anymore?!” He felt ridiculous, getting so worked up about it, but at the end of the day… you were supposed to be friends. And he was the reason you ended up hurting back then, he pushed you to come to practice and he hated himself for ever causing you any pain.

“Because I didn’t want this…” You arrived at the entryway, tears already streaking down your cheeks. God damn it you didn’t want any of this. You didn’t want the way they all looked at you with so much pity. They wouldn’t be able to see you the same, they’d just know you as the person who could never play Volleyball again. It was the look everyone always gave you as you walked through the halls of Aoba Johsai, your leg in a cast. It was a miracle to be able to walk and you were thankful, but all the sad whispers, all the looks in your direction…  
It all made you sick to your stomach.  
You weren’t alright.  
You weren’t even okay.  
You wanted to play Volleyball again, even just one more time. Jump to your heart’s content, run on the court or through a field or run to nowhere, anywhere. Somewhere.

You weren’t the first one to say Volleyball was in your veins, not at all. Not until it was forcibly removed from them, and you were left with nothing; Just the dull ache of what could have been.


	12. Cards on the Table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What The Heck Is Pacing this chapter??  
> Who knows, cause I feel like I couldn't fix it ahahahah

You heard Ennoshita mutter your name, but you couldn’t look up at them all. Instead, your eyes were cast down, tears falling onto the floor. If you had the ability to run, you would have done so already, but instead you just waited, leaning against the sliding doors of the gymnasium. For a long while, no one made a move towards you.

“I’m so sorr---” Yamaguchi tried to apologize first, as he always did, but you cut him off in a heartbeat.

“No! Don’t say that. Please.” Your words were coming out choppy, but you could still form them and that was all you needed. “I don’t want to hear that anymore. Of course it sucks, it’s the literal worst thing, but---” But what? What on earth did you still have to say about it? “I told myself no more setbacks.” With a deep breath, you began to wipe at the tears staining your face.

No more setbacks. You were dealt this hand and you intended fully to use it, even if that meant giving up on what you loved.

“I’m tired of people feeling sorry for me, I already feel sorry enough on my own.” You insisted, head now held up for them all to see. “I didn’t want to say anything cause I know how people are. All of Aoba Johsai looked at me like I was just my messed-up leg, and I couldn’t stand that anymore. So I left.” Your crying had lessened into manageable territory, so you took the chance to stand up straight. “But I’m not afraid anymore. I love Volleyball, I really do. So I can’t just hide away from it.”

“Do you… need a minute?” Sugawara asked quietly, unsure if you wanted to hang around still or not.

“No. I’m fine. Or… I guess I will be. And what I said was true, before. Watching you guys… it feels like I’m fighting with you. I want to always be a part of that fight.”

“I’m glad you said that…” Daichi spoke up now, motioning towards Kiyoko to come closer. You were confused to say the least, head still buzzing from all your emotions. “We actually had planned to ask you something, before… well, all of this came up. You’re not a part of any clubs right now, correct?”

“That’s right…” You weakly responded. Kiyoko finally arrived near you, a paper in her hand. “What’s that?”

“A club enrollment form. We want you to be the next manager.” Her voice was gentle as usual. With a shaky hand, you reached forward and gripped the paper. Sure enough, most of it was filled out, complete with the position on the team.

“But… huh?”

“You’re the heart of the team. We want you to be there from now on, with us for every game!” Nishinoya raised a fist, holding it out towards you. The rush of emotions you felt made you start crying again, to the dismay of the team.

“W-We’re sorry, please don’t cry anymore! You don’t have to take the position!” Asahi exclaimed before anyone else could.

“No, no!!! I’m… I’m happy I promise! It’s just a lot!” You said between sniffles. “But, I’m a second year, so that’ll mean you’ll just need to find another new manager next year, which means the first years will have a different manager every year wouldn’t that be kind of an issue?!” You were rambling a bit, but Tanaka’s laugh drew you out of it.

“Yeesh, calm the hell down! We all talked about it.” He grinned at you, coming over to sling an arm around your shoulders. “And didn’t Ennoshita promise he’d make sure you’d be at our next game?” A blush creeped its way onto your face, though you weren’t sure if it was due to the physical contact with Tanaka or his mention of Ennoshita’s promise. Perhaps both.

“I… I guess…” You couldn’t form words anymore.

“We’d be happy to have you. All of us.” Daichi smiled at you brightly.

“If it had to be someone, I guess you’re not a bad choice.” Tsukishima admitted next to Yamaguchi, who was absolutely beaming at you.

“Th-Thank you everyone! I’ll do my best!” You broke free of Tanaka’s arm long enough to bow, more tears escaping you.

“New manager! New manager!” Hinata and Noya were jumping up and down excitably. Asahi carefully moved past them, approaching you with a tissue in hand. You gratefully took it, glad that your nose wasn’t all that snotty yet.

“How about some air? You could probably use some…” Sugawara laughed weakly, feeling a wave of guilt. “Asahi, could you take them on a walk?”

“H-Huh?” He froze in place, staring wide eyed at the mention of his name.

“GWAHAHA! I don’t think his glass-heart can handle it!” Tanaka’s powerful laugh ebbed away the remaining tension, filling your heart with warmth.

“No, no, I can do it!” Asahi was insisting, but the power to his voice was moderate at best. You briefly wondered why they were assigning someone to walk with you in the first place. It was just a step outside and the sun hadn’t even set fully. With a face streaked with tears, however, you weren’t about to argue on anything. “Let’s go.” His gentle voice was suddenly beside you, a shy but eager smile shot in your direction. You didn’t protest.

 

* * *

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to overwhelm you.” The air outside felt cooler than before, it had been nice on your skin as you listened to Asahi’s third apology.

“No, really, it’s fine.” You assured him, eyes staring only where you went.

“They can be a lot. I know sometimes even I get overwhelmed.” He chuckled, but you could only cast him a glance, questioning his choice of ‘even I’ in his statement. He seemed to take notice, frowning all too quickly. “Alright, alright, that was a poor choice of words.”

“How do you deal with it?”

“Eh? Deal with what?” He asked, a hand finding its way to the back of his neck.

“The looks. I don’t mean to be rude, but, I’ve heard the rumors. And on top of them, there’s also how you actually are. You’d get a lot of looks for that, right?” You felt you were overstepping bounds, clearly entering uncomfortable territories, but they all exposed you like that, so your sense of improper bluntness was subdued for the time being.

“Oh.” He swallowed, you noted. Nervous habit. “They bother me, honestly… a lot more than I’d like people to know.” There was another pause, but where you expected to see him looking distraught, he was actually quite… peaceful. “I think, when you have other people with you, the looks don’t seem so bad.”

“...Yeah?” You wanted to assert that you were listening, but it was too soon to offer input of your own.

“When you have friends or teammates or anyone you care about, they kind of… block everything out. I don’t think the looks ever bothered me more than when I quit the team. Because… it wasn’t just other people looking at me, it was myself. In the mirror, I saw myself with the same level of scrutiny that everyone else had.” Asahi’s shoulders slumped a bit as the two of you continued to walk. “When you’re hiding from people and their looks, you still can’t hide from yourself. So I think, that’s how I deal with them.”

“You’re really wise, Azumane.” You mused aloud, hands now held behind your back. “That was actually really helpful, thank you.” He stared down at you with wide eyes, unsure how to respond. But soon, he simply smiled, glad to have been of any assistance. Especially to you.

 

* * *

You weren’t made manager right away, there were still a few things that needed done; That hadn’t meant you would stop attending practice though, following close behind Kiyoko to be sure you knew what you were getting into. The duties were all what you expected. Hell, you were performing a few of them just to be helpful awhile back.

At the end of the day, though, you all received some interesting and completely shocking news.

“T-Tokyo?” You repeated the city name back, eyebrows raised well above the usual point where they’d stop. It wasn’t often that your thoughts went back to that time… back in junior high when you lived there. How tall would the buildings feel to you now, after all the years? Your mother always moved for work, but you’d managed to stay pretty grounded now… meaning you hadn’t been to an actual city in so long.

To think that you’d be going there, an official member of the team, actually able to watch all of the matches with your own eyes. It was exciting at first, and then it was anxiety inducing when you REALLY thought about it.

“This won’t only be your first trip with us, but a long one at that.” Daichi spoke exactly what you were thinking as if somewhere inside your head.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Will you be alright?” His eyes were on you in an instant, noting your sudden shift in posture. Of course the captain would be able to notice small changes like that, he was attentive to his team to an almost paternal level. You smiled at the thought, but he probably figured it was in reassurance.

“Yeah! I’m just… a bit nervous. I’m not exactly comfortable with new people and I guess it’s all still really… not clicking, you know? Like I’m still in shock you guys even asked me to manage.” You let out a soft laugh, pushing some hair away from your face.

“So cute, without even realizing it.” Noya muttered something to your left, but you barely registered it at all. Tanaka simply nodded, arms crossed over his chest. With a hand on your hip, you faced them.

“Whispering’s rude.” You teased, earning a rather humorous reaction from the other two.

“We knew you were the best choice, that’s all there was to it.” Daichi ignored the altercation, elaborating instead. “When I first met you, you had a look in your eyes.”

“You chose me based on my eyes? That seems kind of reckless---” You immediately clamped a hand over your mouth, taken aback by your own rudeness. Just cause you were thinking it, didn’t mean you had to speak it. To your relief, the captain just laughed.

“That wasn’t all, but I can’t lie and say it didn’t help.”

“Well, uh, whatever reason it was, I just appreciate it, really.” Your shoulders slumped a bit, eyes wandering off. “Everyone knows it now, but… getting hurt like that during a match… it was a lot to handle. And it never stopped be overwhelming after that. I love volleyball, so much. To be told I could never play again…”

“I’m sorry you---”

“Hey, I already said no saying ‘sorry’, didn’t I? Jeez, you guys are so forgetful, no wonder you need a second manager.” You exaggerated the shaking of you head, poking fun to ease the tension.

“There’s one more important thing to keep in mind,” Takeda spoke up again, allowing the murmurs to die out before he continued. “You have exams to study for, too, right?” There was silence. Casting a glance to the side, you worried about the faces Tanaka, Noya, Hinata, and Kageyama made. Oh no. “Right?!” Takeda repeated.

For awhile, all hell broke loose as the four talented, but rather slow-in-school volleyball players freaked out. Honestly, with how fast it all happened, you hardly made out any of the things they were screaming about. The bottom line, though, was they were all in trouble. Ennoshita knew this, too, and with three of you second-years being in an advanced class, it seemed only logical that Noya and Tanaka’s fates would be in your hands.

“Are you sure you’re alright helping with tutoring?” Ennoshita had asked you once everything calmed down. You shrugged, keeping an eye on Tanaka and Noya to be sure they didn’t try to run again. “I mean, it’ll probably be at Tanaka’s house and who knows what kind of trouble they might make for you.”

“Nah,” You waved your hand as if to disperse his worries. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m going to be part of the team, right? Everyone’s going to have to work hard to be sure we can go to Tokyo, I don’t think I’d like slacking-off so much.”

“Wow.” Ennoshita smiled at you, clearly impressed. “I’m glad you’re all in. Makes any doubts about recommending you go away.”

“You recommended me? Wh- Hey, wait, what doubts?!” You snapped at him to his utter amusement.

“What? Saying you’re perfect for the job?” He raised an eyebrow. You knew what he was doing, of course you did…

“How can someone so insecure be so good at bringing up others?” You muttered in annoyance. His expression softened. “I know what you’re doing. Trying to get me to talk myself up. You’d really make a clever captain like that!”

“H-Huh?!” He jumped a bit, waving his hands defensively. “M-Me? No way! I’m not nearly as experienced as Daichi!”

“No, you’re not. But that’s not all it’s about. You know your teammates and how to motivate and encourage them. On top of that, you might not be some genius when it comes to the game, but you’re eager to improve and you’re still good no matter what you think.” You left him dumbfounded, staring blankly at your face.

“You… I…” He stuttered a few more times as he fished for the right words, his face turning red. “I’ll… I’ll do my best.” Was what he finally settled on.

“I know you will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip in rest Yachi, i adore you endlessly but you just don't really have a place in this fic ;;;;;


	13. Part of the Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this and the last chapter were really meh bUT I'm happy with the next one so bare with me til then ;;v;;

Studying at Tanaka’s house was interesting to say the least. You briefly wondered if you were even of any assistance being there, but perhaps when it got too much for the others, you could step in.

“It tells you right here to find it in the passage! Don’t ignore both the question and Norio!” Ennoshita was clearly distraught, reprimanding Noya for his blatant disregard for the reading.

“You’re so awesome, Noya.” Tanaka’s usual self seemed subdued, like he wasn’t sure if he should be so happy with his friend’s straightforward and honest nature at the moment. You let out a sigh, shaking your head. Kinoshita chuckled lightly beside you.

“You’re good at memorization, aren’t you Nishinoya?” Ennoshita seemed to regain his composure, leaning away from the shorter teammate.

Propping himself up on his knees and pulling his shirt out forward, Nishinoya proclaimed, “Leave the four-kanji idioms to me!” You couldn’t help but laugh at his eagerness.

“That won’t be on the exam!” Ennoshita shot back. Behind his sharpness, you noted the immense amount of concern. A part of you wondered if Nishinoya was capable of getting serious about this, but his lighthearted approach could have been his way of dealing with the stress. Either way, you continued to question how Ennoshita put up with them so much. That was when a voice drew away your attention.

“Ugh, are you guys actually studying?” A rather tall girl stood in the doorway, eyes full of confusion. “Are you feeling okay?”

“What’d you mean by that?!” Tanaka glared, turned around towards the visitor.

“Heyo, Saeko-nesan!” Before you even noticed, Nishinoya was stood up, bowing in greeting. The use of ‘nesan’ had you perplexed, but you decided it was best to keep your mouth shut.

“Hey, Yu! You’re looking cool as always!” She chirped back, suddenly full of life.

“Thanks!”

“P-Pardon the intrusion…” Kinoshita was sitting stiffly beside you, losing his usual calm self.

“You’re totally fine.” She sang back, stepping into the room and firmly placing a hand onto Tanaka’s head. “Let’s see… want your big sis to teach you a thing or two?” Ah. She was the sister.

“Shut up! You’re just as dumb as me, so there’s no point.”

“Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate a college girl.” It looked like she was pressing down on his head rather roughly, shoving him forward before letting go. You weren’t sure how to react to all of it.

“You only go to your job and practice!”

“Sh-Shut up! I’m working hard when no one’s looking!”

“Tanaka’s sister is so cool.” Kinoshita spoke up once more, watching the discourse without blinking. Narita nodded, quietly vocalizing his agreement.

“Don’t come crying to me later!” Saeko was just about to leave, but quickly stepped back into view, sticking her tongue out at her younger brother before leaving once more. Family dynamics sure were weird.

Your eyes lingered on the door for a bit before they shifted to you right and onto Ennoshita. He immediately glanced over, smiling meekly. Narita and Kinoshita asked a bit more about Tanaka’s sister, Nishinoya looking pumped as ever, until Ennoshita decided it was time to get things back on track. The studying didn’t go poorly, it just… wasn’t the smoothest ride in the world.

At the end of the day, Narita and Kinoshita had left early, followed by Nishinoya remembering he had to be home out of nowhere. That left just you and Ennoshita at Tanaka’s place. With the second problem-student gone, however, you all decided it was best to call it a day.

“I really appreciate you coming over to help.” Tanaka stood in his doorway, keeping an eye on you as you gathered up your study materials. Ennoshita was waiting in the front to walk with you home.

“It’s no problem, I’m glad to do it.” With careful movements, you straightened out a stack of paper and tucked it back into a folder. “I just hope we actually helped at all.”

“Ahaha, of course you did! Noya and I are pretty dumb, so anything’s helpful right now!”

“Hm.” You frowned, sliding the folder into your bag and sealing it up.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something?” Tanaka’s brows furrowed, his arms coming down from in front of his chest to sit idly by his sides.

“You’re not dumb.” You mumbled, standing up. His expression lightened, a sight you didn’t think possible to see. “Sure, you’re a goofball and loud, and so’s Nishinoya, but that doesn’t automatically mean ‘dumb’.”

“You don’t have to say that just to be nice.” The seriousness of his voice surprised you.

“Tanaka. Have I ever said anything to you just to be nice?” The frown was still there on your face, eyes narrowing slightly. “School’s not a good measure for one’s ability to learn. You learn a lot in volleyball, and you always show so much improvement. Outside of that, you have people-skills and a keen sense of responsibility, despite how you might look. Who the hell actually sits there and says ‘if you can’t memorize this then you’re stupid’?”

There was a moment of nothing, though you felt like it was forever. Until finally, you made the first step, heading for the door Tanaka was leaned against. Before you could exit, however, he placed a hand on your shoulder, face contorted in thought.

“Thanks.” His voice was hardly above a whisper. No one ever took him so seriously. No one ever sat there and recounted the ways he excelled. No one ever looked at him with such respect as you had. But he couldn’t vocalize that, no matter how hard he tried. It just felt weak.

“Thank me when you stop calling yourself dumb.” It came across more blunt than you intended, but you were never a fan of such negative talk. It was one thing, living in your head and berating yourself for every little thing, but the second you said it aloud, you gave those gnawing feelings a voice. You gave that anxiety and self-hatred a tangible existence. “Ennoshita’s probably wondering what the hell we’re doing, c’mon.”

“Can I tell him you made a move on me?” Tanaka joked, receiving a swift elbow to his gut. Still, he laughed, like there was nothing wrong in the first place. You probably should have included his emotional integrity to his list of smarts. “Fine, Fine.”

 

* * *

Takeda-sensei managed to set up another practice match, however this time it was the other coach that reached out, intrigued to play against the team that brought Aoba Johsai into a Deuce. You smiled a bit thinking about how word had already been spreading. Finally, Takeda wouldn’t have to crawl everywhere on his hands and knees proclaiming Ukai’s name.

You were more excited, however, for the chance to see a full match. Looking at the facts, though, you would have been able to watch this match regardless of your association to the team, seeing as it was to be held at Karasuno. Putting that aside, you were soon to be a manager, and you took pride in attending not just as a passerby.

Before Ouginishi arrived, Kiyoko and yourself placed out chairs and assisted in setting up the gym. You hadn’t heard of the school before, so perhaps they weren’t that strong, but any opponent was a good thing to have.  
With unblinking eyes, you carefully watched every movement of the team as the match began, adjusting the score whenever Karasuno earned a point.

You got goosebumps just from watching. They were unlike any team you had ever seen before, the sheer determination of it all. Behind their eyes, they saw themselves at nationals, and they held so firmly to that belief you could feel it in every motion. Maybe… you felt so strongly for all of them… because that was once you.  
Where many would call that sad, you just smiled, finding comfort in the familiarity. Even if you couldn’t carry your own torch forward, there were others to carry it now, in your stead.

That all being said, the practice match itself didn’t last long, and soon enough Karasuno won, the other team leaving after. Having cleaned up most of the gym, you set your sights on another important aspect of your new job.

“Hey, Ace! Nice spiking today!” You praised Asahi, his face turning pink at the attention.

“Th-Thank you very much.”

“Mhm! Course, it’s only to be expected.” You grinned at him, earning a rather warm smile in return.

“Ooh! Me next, me! Compliment me!” Hinata was suddenly jumping up and down beside you, despite having played the entire match. You chuckled weakly at his enthusiasm.

“What did you do that deserves complementing?” Kageyama grumbled to himself, but it was still clearly audible.

“OI! I did lots!” Hinata shot back in the blink of the eye.

“Anddd that’s my cue to exit.” It was said under your breath, but Sugawara heard, snickering to himself.

“They’re a lot to handle at first, huh?” He teased lightly, looking your way. You simply shook your head, eyeing the fight that just broke out between them.

“It’s not really that, I guess. More like they don’t need me to tell them what they did well. They feed so much off of each other and the group, they just naturally figure things out.” Before he could react, however, Daichi suddenly called you over. Without a word, you made your way towards him.

“Everyone else huddle for this, too!” He added quickly, the fighting between the two first years having died out. You carefully watched his movement as he took a box from Kiyoko and set it down to open. Then, your heart felt like it stopped.

“It should fit alright, but let me know if you need anything.”

“Y-Yeah. Thank you, Kiyoko.” The fact that you could speak was miracle enough. Without any delay, you slipped into the sleeves of your very own Club Jacket, eyes perhaps just a bit teary.

“Are you going to cry again!?” Tanaka exclaimed in clear concern, noting the way you sniffled as you held onto the fabric now around your shoulder.

“N-No! Shut up!” Then, thinking more, you turned towards him. “Maybe.” You finally settled on.

“Maybe?” Daichi repeated the word back to you.

“It’s silly, I know! It just means a lot to me. This jacket… it’s what brought me here in the first place, ya know?” Damn it. Just talking about it was making you less composed. To your relief, however, Ennoshita knew exactly what you were talking about.

“The first day we met.” He was smiling, his usual tired eyes looking more lively than usual.

“Exactly!” You nodded vigorously to his statement, trying hard to contain your overly sentimental side.

“Think you can hold on for this part?” Daichi lightly touched your shoulder as he passed you by, approaching the rest of the team. “Ready, and--”

“Welcome to Karasuno’s Volleyball Club!” They all shouted, most of them with their backs turned to show off the white lettering of the jacket. You brought a hand to your mouth, containing any sobs that would risk escaping. This was ridiculous. You were being ridiculous!

“Thank you for having me! I’ll do my best!” Your eyes were burning, but you bowed all the same.

 

* * *

With all the tutoring you had helped provide Tanaka and Noya, you were incredibly relieved to see they had passed. Barely. You knew Ennoshita and the others were probably equally as grateful, if not moreso. The unfortunate truth, however, was that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s job hadn’t gone as smoothly.  
Even with outside help from some cute girl in class 5, Kageyama and Hinata had failed and were forced to attend supplementary classes.

“Its their own faults.” Tsukishima had insisted, sitting just on the other row of seats from you. With a sigh, you nodded.

“As much as I hate to admit it, yeah. Hopefully things work out though and they make it in time.”

“If they don’t, it’ll be much quieter.” He deadpanned, Yamaguchi snickering to his left.

“Aw, don’t worry, Tsukishima. I can try and fill the void if need be.” You went to feign screaming, but he quickly caught on, eyes narrowed at you.

“Stop that.”

“If you say so.” Was all you offered up in response, watching as he gripped his headphones and brought them to his ears. That looked like a win to you.


	14. After All This Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy with certain parts of this chapter so yay ;v;  
> (Also prob won't update tomorrow, hope ya understand)

You yawned loudly when Ennoshita gently nudged you awake, the bus having stopped at your destination.

“Ah, shoot did I actually fall asleep?” You ran a hand through your hair, sitting up.

“Sure did. You should have seen Ennoshita’s face when you---” Sugawara looked highly amused with whatever he was about to say, until Ennoshita interrupted him with a swift slap to the shoulder. The setter simply laughed and apologized, exiting the bus. You had to assume it was something embarrassing, so maybe it was better left unpursued.

“Ready?” Ennoshita offered his hand, which you gratefully took while still trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes. Once standing, he let go, trying hard not to overreact to such a simple gesture.

It wasn’t too early outside, the sun having already found it’s way above the horizon. You squinted against it, careful to watch your step onto the asphalt. A lot of the team stood together, blocking your view from the few Nekoma representatives you heard were there to greet. Honestly, you hadn’t minded, too groggy to actually want to meet anyone yet. Still, you wondered how they might act, what kind of people they were, and how many you’d actually have to speak to at any given time. It wasn’t like a manager-in-training was the most important person there.  
At the very least, you hoped to get along with the other managers.

You could tell Tanaka and Nishinoya had shouted about something, but your mind was still fuzzy from sleep and you failed to register what the actual words were. Then, a very loud and quite unique laugh came from the same direction. Funny, it sounded kind of… nostalgic. Could laughs feel that way? Was that a normal thought? Ennoshita eyed you with a look of puzzlement at your facial expressions. Apparently you were thinking too hard.

“Come on, we should follow the others. Are you sure you got enough sleep on the bus?” With a sigh, he gripped your shoulder, vaguely leading you behind the rest of the team like a stumbling puppy.

“Yeah, yeah. I think all the stress just made me tired.”

“What do you have to be stressed about? You’re not the one playing.” Tsukishima called back towards you, him and Yamaguchi being the next closest team members.

“Probably the thought that I’m going to have to deal with you the whole time, being all grumpy that you sucked at tutoring Kageyama and Hinata.” You shot back, more aggressively than you usually would have.

“The fact that you can piss me off even when tired is almost impressive.”

“Only almost? Gee, I should try harder then.”

“Please stop provoking him.” Ennoshita glared at you, earning an apologetic smile from yourself.

You waited with Kiyoko for everyone to get ready. After the long drive over, it was nice to just stretch your legs and have a moment or two to collect your thoughts. Although, admittedly, most of them were anxious ones. Would Kageyama and Hinata manage to make it in time? Would the other teams take notice of you? Would your anxiousness show?

“You don’t have to worry so much.” Apparently it  _ was _ showing, because Kiyoko placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder, head tilted towards you. “Once they start playing, that’s all they focus on.”

“R-Right. Thank you.”

 

* * *

Stepping into the gym for the first time only caused your anxiety to return, stomach twisting up in knots as you noted the sheer amount of players scattered around. Feeling like a huge wimp, you stuck close to Kiyoko, not wanting to be by yourself if anyone had to speak to you for any number of reasons.  
People were overwhelming. New people in particular.  
Suddenly, you felt your skin crawling, like there was someone staring at you. However, when you turned to look, there was just some guy in red and black talking to Daichi. He was facing away from you, but you could see the silhouette to his mess of hair. Something about its shape made you feel… nostalgic.

There was that feeling again! Like something about him was so eerily reminiscent of your younger days! It was just buried under the surface: a memory, a face, a name. The vagueness of it all just made you feel like you woke up from a dream and were attempting to recall the events, but everything was just flashes of imagery. What the hell was that?

Before you could even consider approaching him, though, something gently nudged your foot. A stray volleyball had made its way towards you, and you noted that Kiyoko had already walked away to chat with Coach Ukai. With a sigh, you bent down and picked it up, eyes returning to the court to see who was coming to retrieve it.  
Another boy in red and black jogged slowly over, his hair was chin-length and two-toned. But his face… his face…   
A dull look of understanding took over your own face as you connected all the seemingly scattered dots of the last fifteen minutes since stepping off the bus.

“You dyed your hair… Kenma.”

At the sound of his name, he dared to look up at your face, instant recognition hitting him like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened as he awkwardly muttered your name.  
It all clicked together so painfully.

Of course you had to insist to Kenma that he had no obligation to talk to you right then, there was still warm-ups to worry about. And after that, matches. He gave a wishy-washy response, but was called over by a teammate, giving him the chance to escape the awkward reunion. You leaned up against the wall, trying to sort everything out in your head.  
Jeez, were you psychic or something? Was that why you felt so anxious that whole time?  
That laugh… that hair… Kenma… no wonder it all felt so familiar. That meant the mess of black hair belonged to none other than Kuroo. You felt your chest tighten when you acknowledged his undeniable presence, but you could no longer get your eyes to come up from the floor, afraid to see him.

Alright, you weren’t exactly  _ afraid _ to see him, per se. It was just… nerve wracking. You hadn’t exactly spoken to him in a few years.

Back on the courts, Kenma approached the aforementioned Kuroo, still clutching the volleyball in his hands.

“Hey, Kuro.” He began, face rather expressionless, but the older boy could still read it.

“I know.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.” Kenma narrowed his eyes, a bit irritated at the interruption.

“You didn’t have to. I saw them, too.”

You wouldn’t have heard, too caught up in your own thoughts and too far away from them. Soon enough, though, Kiyoko returned to get you, the first matches just about to start.

 

* * *

Without Hinata and Kageyama, Karasuno lacked in the offensive department against all of the powerhouse schools. You and Kiyoko took notes on the strategies they all boasted; A series of impressive combos, serves, and receives. However, you grew distracted whenever Nekoma was close by, trying hard to keep your eyes off Kuroo and Kenma. You did your best to keep up with the notes, thankful that the work was split up between you and the much more experienced manager. You carefully paid attention to all the key players on the teams, hoping that watching them would give you something to relay back to your own team.

Not too long after another loss, you could hear whispers about Karasuno. They weren’t all that rude, really, but the way they assumed Nekoma was exaggerating still got to you.

“Augh, when are those idiots going to get here?” You muttered bitterly to yourself. As if on cue, the gym doors opened and there stood Tanaka’s older sister, two figures behind her. Could that be…?

Kageyama and Hinata now stood at the entrance, panting in a dramatic way. You let out a sigh of relief, much to Kiyoko’s amusement.  
Sure enough, with that duo in play, the final match for Karasuno ended in a win. The matches were drawing to an end, dinner would be soon.

Upon trying to leave the gym, however, you were suddenly stopped, a large figure in your way. Oh shit…  
Braving the look up, you were suddenly face-to-face with your junior high friend, Kuroo.

“Going somewhere, stranger?” He had an arm pinned against the entryway, effectively standing completely in the way. His tone of voice easily kept you on guard. You chose to wait for him to speak more, just maintaining eye contact. “It’s been a while, maybe you don’t recognize me? I mean, after all, you didn’t seem to notice me earlier. I’m hurt, really.”

“Of course I recognize you, no one else leaves their hair unbrushed for over three years quite like you do, Kuroo. And that laugh earlier, talk about… unique.” You smirked up at him, matching his standard devious grin. But at your words, he dropped the expression, choosing instead to frown.

“My laugh’s fine, thank you very much.”

“Hey, I never said anything mean about it.”

“That’s a lie. My third year, your second, you tripped in mud and I laughed. Then you told me I sounded like an old lady who needs an oxygen tank to function.” That grin came back full force at the memory, his hand dropping from the doorway. You could have left right then, but given that you couldn’t run, it wasn’t exactly such a good idea. Chances were, he’d just stop you.

“I’ll give you points for remembering that, though I was kind of hoping you didn’t.”

“This old noggin’s still hanging in there.” He brought a finger up to his head, tapping twice on it for effect. You couldn’t help but giggle. All the previous tension seemed to ebb away, and you briefly thought about how much you had missed him. “So, hey, what’s this I hear about you being a manager now?” Just as you felt yourself relaxing around him, your shoulders tensed once more.

“I’m… a manager-in-training for Karasuno.” You weakly responded. His eyes narrowed.

“Hm, weird. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you were  _ playing _ volleyball before, right?” There was a certain kind of roughness in his voice that was coming up full force. You began to feel small in his presence.

“Kuroo---”

“No, no. Let me finish.” His grinned dropped in contrast to your heartbeat, which was through the roof. “Course, you could leave now. Don’t even have to say goodbye, I know that’s too much trouble for you.” That one hurt. It left you with a stabbing pain in your heart and no words to say to him. Kuroo simply shook his head, muttering to himself about something before walking away and leaving you to stand, hurt and ashamed in the gym doorway.

“You sure seem to know a lot of other teams.” Yamaguchi’s gentle voice behind you was a welcomed sound. After all the passive aggressiveness of Kuroo, you were ready for someone more genuine and straightforward.

“I, uh, guess so?” You started nervously, turning to face the freckled boy. “I mean, I moved a lot and I played volleyball, so, like, I don’t think it’s that weird to know a lot of other people who play, right!?” Your defensive nature on the matter cause Yamaguchi to laugh.

“I didn’t say it was weird or anything, sorry! I just thought it was cool. It’s nice that you have a lot of friends.” His smile was so pleasant, but his choice of words hit like a punch to the gut.

“I’m not so sure Kuroo still thinks of me as a friend.” There was a long moment of pause, Yamaguchi having that usual restless ‘I want to ask a question’ look on his face. You chose to bite. “Did you need something?” You tried to use the friendliest voice you could.

“Oh! Right, um… well…” He regathered his thoughts, starting his sentence over. “Right. Dinner’s still not for a bit. Did you want to take a walk with me?” That wasn’t the final question of the evening, you knew that much for sure. But at that point, was there anything he could ask that would actually bother you?

“I’d love to.”

 

* * *

“Hey, hey, hey, Kuroo!” Bokuto’s booming voice would usually startle anyone, but the Nekoma captain was a bit too adjusted to it. “What were you doing being all mean to that cute manager?!” He was pointing a finger dramatically. Kuroo turned to look at him, noting Akaashi just a couple feet away. Sure, he could lie to Bokuto just fine, he wasn’t a fan of doing that, but it’d still work all the same and get him out of the conversation quicker, but with Akaashi there…

“S’nothing to worry about, Bo. We’re just old friends.” He settled on a half-lie, doing his best to smile.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore…” Akaashi called the bluff, not so much as batting an eyelash. Damn it. He was polite, but way too perceptive for his own good.

“Yeah!!! You sounded really upset there.” Bokuto was pouting now, perhaps invested in the dispute he happened upon. Kuroo wasn’t happy about that. He wanted to just let things stop there, he hadn’t even meant to talk to you at all, but he couldn’t stop himself. A scowl found its way onto his face, probably giving away more than he usually would. “Whoa. You okay?”

“I’m fine, Bo. Just need some air. I’ll find you at dinner.” Without making eye contact, Kuroo moved on past Akaashi and Bokuto, hoping to just leave and get his frustration under control. Dumbass… shouldn’t have spoken to you in the first place.

 

* * *

“So what’s the question of the day, Yamaguchi?” You decided to start off, walking side-by-side out along the perimeter of the gyms. Most everyone was in the cafeteria, waiting for dinner to be finished, so the night remained quiet.

“H-huh?” He looked over to you with slightly wide eyes. You had caught him off guard. “Oh. Right. Sorry, I didn’t mean to come across like all I wanted to do was ask you something…”

“Even if you did I’m not sure that warrants an apology.”

“I… guess. I thought you could use some time away from everyone, but I do happen to have a question, too, if that’s alright.” Yamaguchi was always so tense near you, you briefly wondered if he was like that around anyone else. Next to Tsukishima, he seemed so calm…

“Yeah I suppose a question won’t hurt.” You smiled at him, his face dimly lit by the outside lights. It was harder to read his expression, but you could still see the way his eyes darted around, thinking.

“Why… why did you come to Karasuno. Not to, like, make you think I’m not happy you did, cause I am! Just…” He struggled to find the words, mouth opening and closing a few more times before he tilted his head to one side and spoke. “You came from a private school.”

You could have easily repeated the lie you fed Oikawa when you ran into him so long ago. It wasn’t fully a lie, of course. Karasuno was within a reasonable distance to your home, and you wanted a fresh start away. No one ever asked for more reason than that, but…  
Did you really want to lie? Sure, he fussed over you a lot, but… it was kind of different, wasn’t it? When other people showed concern, it was because they thought you couldn’t do anything. With Yamaguchi, he just wanted to help if you _did_ need it, he never assumed anything. He was just so genuine, it was almost unreal.

“I guess… it was symbolic in a way.” You weren’t speaking much above a whisper, forcing Yamaguchi to take a step closer to your side to hear. “I had heard all the things they said about you guys. ‘Fallen Crows’. That’s what they called you. After the injury… I couldn’t jump anymore. I had been a wing spiker for so long I forgot what it was like to be grounded.” Subconsciously, you scratched at your right leg.

“Maybe it’s kind of silly… in fact, I feel pretty stupid saying it all out loud, but…” You continued, looking somewhere off into the distance, out into the dark unknown. “I felt like someone clipped my wings. I didn’t belong at Aoba Johsai anymore and I didn’t want to be there either. So… I went where the ‘Fallen Crows’ were, to Karasuno. I don’t know what I hoped to get out of it.”

“I don’t think that’s dumb.” Yamaguchi finally spoke up, head turned towards you. “You went through a dark time… people search for meaning in even small details. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

You stopped, causing him to do the same. Shifting your gaze to his, you smiled, not sure how on earth you had ended up so lucky as to have all these friends. You muttered a quick ‘thank you’ and the two of you walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria in a comfortable silence.


	15. Reconciliation of the Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY WHOOPS sorry for no update for like 2 days or so there :'D  
> I ended up focusing on some other work and while I had this chapter finished, I hadn't even figured out where I was going with the next SO
> 
> uh yeah  
> here we are  
> I struggle to write characters ;v;

_ “I’ll be going on to highschool next year.” It was a plain enough statement, but you could hear something else going on behind Kuroo’s voice. _

_ "Yep.” Was all you replied, lying back in the grass after school. Practice had just wrapped up, but Kenma had a teacher to go see, so you and Kuroo were waiting, watching as the sun began to set. A light breeze blew the older boy’s hair gently, though nothing could disturb that mess of black attached to his head. _

_ “Would you look after Kenma for me?” He spoke again, voice lowering. _

_ “What, you mean all of next year?” Your head tilted back to look at an upside down Kuroo. His face showed no signs of joking. “I… guess I can.” _

_ You weren’t exactly that close to Kuroo, or at least you didn’t think he thought too highly of you overall. Sure, with Kenma you’d play video games with him every once in awhile, but you and Kuroo only spoke in-school. They were nice talks, lots of them funny, but they were just… talks. Hell, you didn’t even know what highschool he was going to end up at. _

_ “Cool.” He grinned, taking a seat next to you, one leg stretched out and one bent slightly. “One more thing you’ve got to promise.” _

_ “What’s that?” You rolled over onto your side, eyeing him warily. He ran a hand through his mess of hair, getting a bit stuck halfway through. _

_ "Never quit playing volleyball. Some people quit when they get to highschool, but I don’t want you to. Someday, when you and Kenma are there, too, I want us all to play again. Kay?” Kuroo was trying his best to play it off like it was solely for his benefit, but you knew better. _

Just like you should have known better than to have made any promises in the first place.

Because just as your third year of junior high started, your mother was hired in the Miyagi prefecture.  
You moved without much chance to say goodbye.

 

* * *

When morning came, you joined the other managers in the dining hall, poking gently at your food.   
You wanted to talk to Kuroo… you hadn’t seen him that angry before, meaning you must have  _ really _ messed up. Chances were, he was even angrier back then. Kenma had seemed fine enough, because at the end of the day he still had Kuroo, even if they weren’t together for his third year of junior high.

“Hey.” Speak of the devil, Kenma now stood at the end of the table, food tray in hand with simply a bowl of oatmeal. You looked up, eyes probably wider than he expected. “Can we talk now?”

“Um, yeah. Of course! Please, sit.” With your free hand, you gestured to the opposite side of the table. The other managers just watched, not wanting to intervene at all. “How… how have you been?”

“Fine…” His voice was low, taking a small bite of his breakfast.

“School?”

“Hm…” He tilted his head to the left, eyes not leaving the food. You knew he wasn’t one for eye-contact, although a part of you wished he’d look at you at least a little. “It’s been fine. Kuro helps me with studying. He’s still top of the class.” You nodded along to his words.

“Volleyball?” Saying the sport out loud still held a certain weight to it, but you noted how much easier it had gotten since befriending the boy’s team. Kenma glanced up at your face, expression as neutral as always.

“It’s fine. I’m the setter. Kuro’s the captain.” A part of you appreciated how he kept gently inserting how Kuroo was doing into the answers. He knew you were too afraid to ask about him yourself. You supplied another nod, allowing silence to drift over the both of you. It was never uncomfortable to sit with Kenma, to just let time pass as you both thought about your own things. Often times you’d go over to his house just to lay on his floor and play a game while he played his own. That was just how your relationship was, and you figured Kuroo respected that, glad to have seen the ever-social anxious Kenma make a friend.

“I missed you.” You finally admitted, suddenly resting your chin on the table. Now it was your turn to avoid his eyes. “I missed you both a lot.”

“We missed you, too.” Kenma was fiddling with something on his phone when you looked up at him again. You felt so small hiding yourself in your arms below his line of sight. “Kuro might not admit it right now, but he missed you. That’s why he’s being unreasonable.” It kind of felt validating to have Kenma calling him unreasonable.

“So you talked to him?” You asked, propping yourself up on your elbows. He hummed his affirmation. “What do you suggest? Should I find him myself?”

“Maybe. I think Kuro’s hurt. He was kind of excited to see you before, but then he realized what it meant.” His eyes hadn’t left his phone, but he was still taking small bites of his meal. As you both spoke, the dining hall had become more busy, the Karasuno boys eyeing your conversation warily. You didn’t pay them much mind.

“Whattya mean?”

“You’re a manager, right? You don’t play anymore.” Of course. The promise you made, that the three of you would get to play together someday. You felt your stomach twist up and subconsciously rested your right arm across it.

“Kenma…” You started, earning his attention. Actually looking into his eyes was much harder than you thought it’d be, but he deserved to know just the same. “I can’t play volleyball anymore.” Your voice was low, but he still heard, eyebrows raised up.

“You… can’t?” He repeated, looking for some clarification, some actual reasoning behind the sentence. You shook your head, sniffling lightly.

“I was injured.” With all the background noise around you two, that one phrase still managed to stand out painfully so. Kenma stared for awhile longer, his phone left forgotten in his hand.

“... You should tell Kuro.” He finally said, eyes averted yet again. You certainly didn’t blame him, it was a heavy conversation, especially to be having so early in the morning.

You knew your first match of the day was going to be against Nekoma and that you all would be leaving, not to return for another week or so. It had to be before you left.

 

* * *

The first match was awkward. Before you had to simply just avoid looking at him, but now you had spoken to each other, and he had left in such a quiet rage. Part of you wished he would just yell at you and get it over with, you didn’t like how to-himself he managed to keep.  
So caught up in your own thoughts, you hardly had time to register what Hinata was doing: jumping right into Asahi.

“A-Azumane?!” You shouted, standing suddenly. It seemed Hinata wasn’t paying attention, but to an outsider it might have looked like he was intending to steal the ball from the ace. What had gotten into him?  
There was some other conflicts happening, small ones; Not too noticeable when you were stuck up in your own head for the time being. And once it was established that no one was hurt, you figured it was safe to drift back out of focus. There weren’t many matches held, seeing as you all had to head back to Miyagi.

You were running out of time.

“Kuroo!” You shouted, just as he was about to leave the gym after the final match with Karasuno playing. He stopped, turning to look at you before muttering something to his teammate who wandered off soon after. You took that as your sign to approach, doing such while fighting the urge to just say nothing at all.

“Yeah?” His voice was low, you noted.

“We need to talk.”

“Do we now?” He asked with a quirk of the eyebrow. You weren’t exactly feeling up to his antics right then.

“Please.” You pleaded, making eye contact with him. There was lull, a moment or two where he just stared down at you, replaying memories in his head, retracing steps of the conversation he felt he had done wrong. You looked so sad, to him.

“... You’re right. Come on.” He motioned for you to follow, turning and leading you down to a secluded area behind the gym. You didn’t have long at all, but you appreciated the extra care for no one to stumble onto your private discussion. Kuroo stopped, hands crossed over his chest. “So? You seemed to have a game plan here. Did you want to start?”

“I’m so sorry.” You began, gripping your left arm firmly in an attempt to keep yourself calm. “I’m sorry I left suddenly and never got to say anything to you… I’m sorry I didn’t get to look after Kenma and---”

“Do you actually think that was all the problem?!” His sudden jump in volume made you flinch. Seeing that, he sighed and shook his head, returning to his usual range. “I’m not stupid, you had no control over whether you moved or not. Sure, I was upset at first, but it’s been three fucking years, I’m not a kid anymore, I know life’s not always fair.”

“Kuroo---”

“But God damn it, you loved volleyball! What the hell are you thinking?! How long since you quit!? What asshole made you think you weren’t good enough to be on a team, huh?”

“Kuroo!” You tried being more forceful, but he wasn’t ready to stop.

“I didn’t know if we’d ever see you again! You left and I know Kenma won’t show it much, but he was  _ torn up _ ! And I-- Fuck, all I had to hold onto was the thought that maybe someday we’d see you again and we’d just play a set or two like there was never any time where you were gone! We’d see each other when you and your team came to Tokyo for nationals!” It was all too much. You had never seen him so serious before or that angry. In fact, you had always thought… maybe he only liked you because Kenma did. There were many times you wondered why he spoke to you much at all, but now…

“KUROO!” You must have shouted at the top of your lungs, because suddenly he was staring in awe, tears prickling at both of your eyes. You never thought you’d see the day Tetsuro Kuroo would cry on yours or anyone else’s behalf. He muttered your name lightly, as if in question. “I got hurt…” The sound you made after finally speaking the words was somewhere between a cough and a sob.

“What?” He asked quietly.

“I got hurt! I can’t play! It wasn’t my idea to quit, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry I had to break our promise! I’m so, so, so, sorry!” You repeated your apologies over and over again, until he pulled you into your arms and rested his chin on your head.

“I’m sorry, too.” Was all he whispered, both hands gripping at your back. “Whether you were hurt or not… I didn’t have to be an asshole.”  
You stayed like that for what felt like forever.

 

* * *

“Guess this is goodbye for a bit.” Kuroo grinned at you, Kenma standing to his side.

“I guess. But we’ll be back soon.” You said with a shrug. Without even thinking you suddenly hugged Kuroo again. It took him a moment to react, but soon his arms settled around your waist. “I look forward to it, though!”

“Hey, now, hey. No need to get so sentimental yet. You might get me in trouble with the crows.” He teased just before you let go.

“What, why? Are you scared of them?” Despite not fully understanding his meaning, you managed to shoot back your own jab. He snickered, shaking his head.

“Nah, but I think Kenma might be.” He jerked a thumb towards the short boy, who was just listening in casually.

“Why would you even say that? I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.” There was a long pause, but you knew what would come next as Kuroo’s grin grew.

 

“Are too.”

 

“Oi! We’re leaving soon!” Daichi called out. You waved a hand back in acknowledgement before turning back to your old friends.

“I should get going. I’ll see you guys next time, though. Bye!” You offered up a small wave, knowing that if you went to hug Kenma he’d be rather uncomfortable. And, well, you had just hugged Kuroo two seconds ago, there was no need to look clingy. With it all said and done, you took your things, packed them into the bus, and joined Ennoshita just as he was boarding the bus.

“Did they ask why you cared so much?” Kenma asked with you now gone.

“Nope.” Was his response. Casual and collected as per usual.

“Do you plan on telling them?”

“Hey, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. We just got to see each other again, no need to throw romantic interest into that whole mess.”


	16. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Interaction City (cause hooby does reader talk to like So Many People)
> 
> There probably won't be an update for a lil bit, cause the next chapter is gonna be... pretty flippin' long by my standards ;v; (Heck, this one already is my current longest at almost 5k words)  
> Hope ya don't mind, thanks much for nearly 50 kudos and 600+ hits <3

“So. Nekoma’s captain, huh?” Ennoshita asked quickly as the two of you went to take your seats. You must have looked dumbfounded, having stopped right in the middle of the aisle, because Tsukishima was actually  _ laughing _ at you.

“Oh my God, their face! Ennoshita you broke them!” He let out, causing Yamaguchi to even look concerned.

“T-Tsukki?” He tilted his head as his friend finally calmed down.

“Th-There’s nothing going on there I just knew him in junior high, I promise!” Why were you suddenly getting so defensive? Your face felt like a million degrees, probably because of all the attention on you, but still. “Can we just drop it?”

“I didn’t even get to properly ask in the first place.” Ennoshita was still giving you his tired smile, but what you couldn’t have noticed as you took the window seat and stared outside to all those waving, was the way that tired smile dropped. Yamaguchi seemed a bit restless, too, especially since he was there when Kuroo was being kind of an ass. How could your relationship have changed so quickly like that?

When the bus stopped, you (having successfully not slept on it at all) stepped off it, being the first to come face to face with a shorter blonde girl. You didn’t know of anyone on the team having a girlfriend, and she looked like a first year, so it was only reasonable to assume she was the other tutor to Hinata and Kageyama.

“Hitoka, right?” You muttered. She seemed to jump three feet in the air or something, nodding vigorously. You must have startled her. With a quick apology, you introduced yourself and shuffled out of the way for the rest of the team to get off. “So what are you still doing here?” You wondered aloud, earning another over the top action from her. Perhaps it’d be better if you didn’t talk to her at all…?

“I, um, I actually… came back… to school…to uhh...” She fiddled with her hands, eyes darting around uncomfortably. You nodded in understanding.

“Making sure Hinata and Kageyama made it just fine?” You finished her statement for her, receiving a firm nod in confirmation. With a chuckle, you peered over your shoulder and gestured when you saw the aforementioned knuckleheads getting off the bus. “Well there you go.” Not wanting to overstay your welcome, you once more shuffled away, joining just behind the others to grab your things. And then Sugawara called your name.

“What’s up, Suga?” He always seemed to smile when you said his name. Then, he clapped his hands together in apology to your surprise.

“Sorry, I know I end up asking this a lot, but would you walk with me home?”

“This is only the fourth time you’re asking. I’d love to.” Apparently there’s 50-50 chance, you noted in your head. Sugawara seemed to beam at you, pointing towards the bus.

“Let me just get my stuff.”

Off to the side, Ennoshita stood (with Kinoshita and Narita), twitching around awkwardly. You wouldn’t have figured it out, but he was upset Suga asked you to walk with him first and wanted to try and suggest you all walked together, however there was still a small line to get bags.

“You guys don’t have to wait for us, we’ll be fine.” You were attempting to help, but unfortunately that was the opposite of what you did. Ennoshita managed a smile in return, but inside he wasn’t doing so hot.

“R-Right. See you tomorrow.” And with that they left, Kinoshita laughing a bit to your confusion.

Sugawara returned not too long after, bag slung over his shoulder. Some of the others were planning to make a stop at the foothill store along the way home, so the two of you declined politely and made your way down the hill beforehand.

“I hope I don’t across selfish wanting to spend time with you like this.” Suga was the first one to speak, walking a little closer to you than you were used to with the other guys.

“Selfish? Why would I think that?” For a long moment, he turned to stare at you, seemingly irritated, but you knew that was just his thinking face.

“You’re really perceptive, you know? So why are you so oblivious to everything around you?” His words caught you off guard, your entire face just screamed ‘?’. “Sorry, sorry. I probably shouldn’t put that kind of pressure on you.”

Pressure? Selfish? You were completely lost, but having known him for so long now, you found that it was just easier to let him say his cryptic piece and move on. Not like he’d give you the answer after he apologized.

“Do you still talk to Iwaizumi?” He switched topics so fast, you thought you might get whiplash. But then, what he said sunk in more and you looked at him in astonishment. “Ennoshita might have let it slip.”

“Blabber mouth.” You grumbled. “Yeah, we text a lot. He congratulated me on becoming a manager, but I haven’t seen him since the Inter-high if  _ that’s _ what you’re asking.”

“Who said that’s what I’m asking?” Suga smirked lightly, elbowing your arm. You rolled your eyes in response, stepping a bit away from him only to find that he closed the gap yet again. With that realization, your face began to heat up. “I’m just glad you haven’t lost your connections to your old school. With everything that happened I was a bit worried… well that doesn’t matter. This is your turn, right?” His feet stopped as he pointed toward your usual alleyway.  
Jeez, you walked with a guy one time and he memorized your route home.

“Yeah. Thanks for walking with me, even if half of what you said made no sense.” Another eyeroll from you made him chuckle.

“The longer you know me, the more sense I start to make, I promise. Stay safe.” He waved you off, watching as you headed down the alleyway and made your standard turn around the corner.

 

* * *

 

From: Iwaizumi

_ You home yet? _

Just as you entered your house, your phone went off in your pocket. What was he, psychic or something? You slipped out of your shoes and entered the kitchen, looking in the fridge for something to eat while responding.

To: Iwaizumi

_ Yep! How was practice? _

From: Iwaizumi

_ It was good. Oikawa’s serves are getting better, but you didn’t hear that from me. _

To: Iwaizumi

_ Are you worried about Karasuno knowing you said that or Oikawa himself? _

You began to warm up some leftovers in the microwave, leaning up against the granite counter top. It was still rather dark inside, you usually didn’t like turning on all the lights just to be in your room for the majority of the evening. The kitchen’s only light came from the dim insides of the microwave, spinning your food slowly.

From: Iwaizumi

_ Let’s go with both for now. _

_ You just got back from Tokyo. How was that? _

The beep from the microwave sounded throughout the apartment, causing you to remove your eyes from the phone. With a soft huff, you retrieved The Goods and escaped to your room, which would have much better lighting.

To: Iwaizumi

_ Ran into some old junior high friends so that was a time. Things worked out, but it was pretty stressful haha. _

You added a ‘haha’ at the end. You know, to keep it casual.

From: Iwaizumi

_ Jeez. That must have been rough, glad it ended up okay. _

To: Iwaizumi

_ Hey, you and Oikawa are still good, right? _

It was worth checking, you thought. You had heard before about their little spat since Iwaizumi had been refusing to tell him about texting you.

 

* * *

_ “Hey. I’m sorry.” Iwaizumi avoided looking right at him, not exactly glad to be admitting he was overreacting before, but he knew it was important to not just mistreat your friends. And Oikawa, despite all odds, was the best friend he’s had. Said best friend simply looked up, pouting lightly. _

_ “Iwa-chan, do you really not trust me?” He asked to the dismay of Iwaizumi. He was kind of hoping the apology would be enough, but it seems they were going to have a bit of a talk. _

_ “No, I do, I just--- augh, will you stop pouting and take this seriously? Thank you.” He took a deep breath and restarted. “I trust you, I was just being a dick. I guess I was---” Scared. He was scared. He was so afraid that you’d fall in love with Oikawa and he’d lose you again. It was stupid, of course, just some dumb crush he formed staying late with you after school. A dumb crush that had found itself resurfacing at a painful pace. _

_ But how the hell was he supposed to admit that? _

_ “I understand.” Oikawa looked away, both hands resting on his hips. “But you’re not the only one with a special connection to them.” _

_ “Sorry.” It came out muttered, but it seemed to be enough for the time being. _

_ “No worries, Iwa-chan. I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have tried to provoke you at the match like I had, though you did play quite a bit better afterwards~!” _

_ “That was only ‘cause I imagined your face every time I spiked the ball.” He began to walk away, having said his piece. Oikawa flinched only a bit, recovering impressively fast. _

_ “Keep in mind, I always put the game first, Iwa-chan~!” _

_ “Pff. That’s exactly what they’ll like about you.” Iwaizumi said to himself, not even close to loud enough for the setter to hear. _

 

* * *

From: Iwaizumi

_ Yeah. We’re good. He’s not a bad guy, just sometimes blinded by his drive. _

To: Iwaizumi

_ I could think of a couple guys like that too haha _

For awhile you texted back and forth, talking about anything and everything as you always did. There was something comforting in the genuine nature he had, the way he always asked about your day and your interests. From the outside, Iwaizumi was intimidating and one might assume he was a bit of a brute, but really… he cared a lot and was polite, just rather intense in-match.  
You really liked that about him.

Not too long after, you fell asleep.

* * *

 

 

Unfortunately for you, the unplanned dozing off caused you to sleep in later than you would have liked. It wasn’t like you were going to be late by any means; You had always left home early to make sure your slow-pace was giving you enough time in case there had to be any detours or such. That didn’t stop you from worrying, however, as you made your way out the door and along your usual path. As you stepped out onto the main road that led up directly to the school, you spotted a familiar face just up ahead.

“Tanaka?” You called out, getting the fellow second year to turn your way. He waved gently, waiting for you to catch up. Now that everyone in the club knew about your injury, they were more courteous about their walking speeds and that simply made things easier on you. “Good morning.”

“Mornin’. You’re up later than usual.” He pointed out with a grin. “Good thing we don’t have practice today, huh?”

“Could say the same to you.” You rolled your eyes for what felt like the millionth time that whole week. He simply laughed. “Bummed we can’t use the gym?” You decided to ask. His face seemed to sink a bit to your legitimate surprise.

“Yeahhh. Speaking of practicing,” His eyes narrowed, arms crossed over his chest as you walked. “Kageyama and Hinata apparently had Hitoka helping them with their tosses last night. Things got a bit out of hand, though.”

“Whoa, what? What happened?” Now you were intrigued.

“They got into a bit of a fight. Hitoka ran and got me, luckily, but she looked pale as a sheet!”

“Like… a real fight? Holy crap…” You sighed, shaking your head slightly. Hinata had been acting strange for a while there, it was only a matter of time until there was some friction. “Will they be okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I didn’t punch them too hard. Gwahahaha!”

“I meant emotionally, but cool, alright.” You teased back, shoving his arm. He shrugged weakly, an embarrassed grin across his face. “Maybe it’s good we don’t have practice today then, they could use the day to cool off.”

“Ehh, they’ll be fine! They started off arguing, I’m sure this is just… part of their process.” That was true. Back when Ennoshita gave you details of the club and its members, he was sure to talk about those two and their immediate rivalry.

“I sure hope so.”

“Hey, now! No need to be so down, it’s bad enough we got those two dumbasses fightin’ and shit. We can’t have our newest manager feeling out of it, too! What would that do to team morale!?” He slung an arm around you, a strangely comfortable action he would often do to keep you from freaking out. You leaned into his touch a bit, huffing.

“Stop trying to be so wise, it’s going to confuse your image.”

“Gwh- hey! I’m trying to be nice!”

 

* * *

“Kiyoko? What’s up?”

It was lunch time; You were sitting with the second years, talking about the upcoming summer vacation and the maneuvers the team still had to pull off when Kiyoko came in looking for you. Much to the disappointment of Nishinoya and Tanaka, she led you outside into the hall for discussion and away from their… constant gazes.

“Sorry to bother you during lunch.” She began, holding her Manager’s notebook in her arms. “However, I wanted to make sure you could keep an eye on a couple of the team member’s individual progress?”

“Um, yeah, of course. What… do you mean by that, though?”

“We only have a short time before we go back to Tokyo. It’s looking like a lot of the practices from now on might be more split up.” She explained patiently, a small but pleasant smile on her face. You nodded along eagerly.

“Sure, sure, makes sense. How’s the group splitting up?” She shrugged at your question.

“We don’t know yet. We’ll just have to see how it works out tomorrow. I wanted to give you a heads up, but you can return to lunch now. Sorry for the interruption.” She bowed her head, running off to return to her own class most likely. It made sense why she’d want to let you know, but… it wasn’t like there  _ was _ much to know.

You re-entered the classroom, taking your seat once more only to be bombarded with questions from Tanaka and Nishinoya. For the most part you blocked them out until there was a pause near the end.

“Did you talk about who you’re falling for!?” Tanaka grinned mischievously at you.

“Oh, of course~!” You mocked, dragging out each word for far too long. “We’re deeply in love with some guys on the team. Definitely you two, for sure. Bald is  _ so _ her type.”

“Cold.” Tanaka responded, eyes narrowed. You couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Hey, you started it.”

“Could have just given us the real answer!” Nishinoya added his own quip, slumping forward onto the desk.

“Careful, I’ll go eat lunch with the third years.”

“THEY CAN’T HAVE YOU!” They both yelled at once, causing you to drop a bit of food.

“Guys, stop scaring them away and eat your lunch!” Ennoshita barked, having been sat across from you and, essentially, right in the middle of it all.

“Yes, Ennoshita.”

“Okay, Chikara…”

 

* * *

Once school had ended, Yamaguchi invited you to walk with him and Tsukishima after you ran into them at the stairwell. You decided to accept, although you weren’t initially planning to go home right away. With the afternoon practices cancelled it felt so early to be leaving. The sun was still high up in the sky, beating down with the heat of summer.

“Are you guys excited to go back to Tokyo?” You decided to ask as the three of you passed through the school’s main gate. Tsukishima chuckled through his nose, just letting out a couple puffs of air.

“What’s there to be excited about?” His tone annoyed you, but you weren’t there to be picking a fight. Instead, you looked to Yamaguchi, who could only manage a shy smile.

“Fine, fine. You can just listen to your music if that’s how you’re going to be.” You waved him off, stepping closer to the freckled boy. That seemed to get a reaction out of him. Afterall, Tsukishima still wasn’t used to people going head-to-head with him, not phased by his height or attitude. In turn, Yamaguchi was turning pink, not used to the closeness.

“Tch.” He simply clicked his tongue, looking away from the two of you.

“Ts-Tsukki?” Yamaguchi quietly said, his way of making sure his friend was okay.

For the majority of the walk, it was just you and Yamaguchi talking back and forth about school and how his practice was going with Shimada. You were proud of him, he was really giving it his all to be considered an equally important member. You hadn’t been there for his one time as Pinch-Server, but it sounded devastating when Kiyoko relayed the information to you all those weeks ago.

“Actually, I’m going to go practice today.” He gestured to his turn with a single finger, making both you and Tsukishima stop. Oh. Oh great, he was going to leave you alone with an already irritated Tsukishima. “I’ll… see you guys tomorrow, bye!” He hardly gave the two of you time to react before he dashed off. You wouldn’t realize until much, much later that he had been lying.

“Jeez, he could have mentioned that earlier.” You let out a sigh, pausing for just a moment before walking again. When you did that, however, you noted Tsukishima followed your movements, as if he was… well, as if he still wanted to walk with you.

There was no part of you that truly understood Tsukishima; He was an enigma like no other. While he seemed to have your best interests at heart, going so far as to keep your secret from the club for as long as possible and attempting to cheer you up a bit afterwards, he still didn’t… get along with you. In fact, he always tried to be downright insufferable. Maybe he was just nice to you (if you could call it that) because Yamaguchi liked having you around. But no… Yamaguchi definitely said:

 

_ “He might not show it, but… Tsukki likes having you around. A-And I do, too! So, uh… I guess what I want to say is… look after yourself. We get you don’t want to tell everyone, yet, so I think cause we’re the only ones who know, we just worry more. Cause we care and all.” _

 

He included Tsukishima in all of that, and you weren’t about to doubt Yamaguchi’s reading of his friend. His honesty, perhaps, but you’d like to  _ think _ he wouldn’t lie.

“Hey. Can I ask you something?” Tsukishima’s sudden voice jolted you out of your own head, forcing you back into reality.

“Me?” You gaped for a second, his eyes sliding over to you.

“Of course you, Yamaguchi left already.” He was using that harsh tone again, the one that frustrated you to no end. Still, for Yamaguchi’s sake you could try to keep your cool.

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

“Why do you like volleyball so much?” That was… odd. Out of the millions of possibilities you bounced around in your head for what he could ask, that didn’t exactly land on the list.

“I’ll answer in a second, but first… Why do you want to know?”

“Can’t you just answer the question like a normal person?”

“No. See, now I answered one of your questions, answer mine.” You smirked at the irritation growing on his face. Not having to walk at night meant you could actually see the subtle ways his eyebrows moved, or the curl of his mouth, or--- it may have come to your attention that you were looking too closely at Kei Tsukishima’s face. You chose to stop.

“Fine.” He huffed out, eyes darting back to the left, where you weren’t standing. “I don’t understand how everyone can be so obsessed with winning. They work themselves into exhaustion, beat themselves up over losses, and get injured. At the end of the day, though… it’s just a club. So why?” His voice softened a bit when he said ‘injured’, eyes darting back over to you for only a moment.

“Ah, I see.” You nodded twice, one hand gripping your bag strap. “I’m really not a great person to be asking. I’m obviously biased towards giving it your all.”

“But  _ why _ ?” He was definitely glaring at you right then, you could feel it.

“I dunno. I guess for me it was about never having any regrets. But I like when people are happy and I liked making my teammates happy. You don’t really give a shit about that, it’s more about personal gain.” You could feel his glare intensifying. “Hey, calm down. I’m not saying that’s a bad way to play at all. There’s a huge difference between wanting personal gain and being self-centered, right?”

“I think you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t want to lose, but if you do, then it’s whatever, right? Getting that worked up seems inefficient or just ridiculous. Why bother being exhausted for a literal high school club? You’re not looking to be a professional and all that practice isn’t going to magically make you the best out there, someone can always beat you. If everyone else wants to push themselves to the brink, then what’s that have to do with you, right?” You looked over, noting the way Tsukishima’s eyes widened. He felt a bit weird, hearing all the words he had thought about coming out of your mouth.

“You still haven’t answered.” He muttered, not wanting to confirm what you already knew to be true.

“Cause I can’t give you the answer you want. I love volleyball and it made me happy in a time where I was lost, simple as that. But you want an actual reason, something that’ll prove itself one day, and that’s not what I have for you. But, hey, someday, someone might come along and give you exactly what you’re looking for. So just, deal with those knuckleheads a bit longer, yeah?”

Again, he refused to speak up, eyes hesitantly lingering on you, watching as you stared straight ahead. Damn it… he hated how you could just be so nonchalant about it. Why didn’t you react like everyone else? Why couldn’t he read you in the same way? It really pissed him off.

“This is where I head off. Enjoy your evening free of volleyball!” You gave him a small wave, not particularly enthusiastic in your sentence.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” He sounded like such a stereotypical rebel teenager you couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop.” He said, sharper that time.

“Sorry, Tsukki--- shima.” You caught yourself just in time, genuinely surprised you nearly called him by the nickname Yamaguchi gave him. For a moment you were convinced that was where you’d die, rest in pieces.

“Whatever.” He mumbled, turning away and continuing along the path. “See you.” That was pleasantly not like death at all.

 

* * *

Kiyoko was right, the next day after school, the boys took over two gyms, borrowing the girl’s one for the extra space. You were given the initial choice of which group to monitor, but decided it was in your best interest to let the more experienced Kiyoko go keep watch on the larger group. With Hinata and Kageyama doing some kind of solo-training and Yamaguchi practicing serves with Shimada (not to mention Tsukishima skipping out on anything extra at all), that meant there were few boys staying late.

You entered the gymnasium, immediately greeted by a ball of energy.

“Are you here to watch us?!” Nishinoya bounced over, much like a rabbit, eyes sparkling up at you. Asahi stopped mid-serve toss and turned to look your way. You gave him a shy wave.

“Yep. Kiyoko’s keeping track of the other guy’s progress, so my job is to take notes on you two.”

“YOU HEAR THAT, ASAHI?!” Nishinoya’s sudden shouting hurt your ears, but you were glad he was so excited. “They’re gonna watch us!!!” Your eyes wandered over to the Ace, his entire posture changing and his face expressing shock. Oh boy.

“Y-You don’t have to be nervous! That’d kind of ruin the point of tracking your progress.” You did your best to laugh, but it seemed to have little effect on the atmosphere. Regardless, you had a job to do, so you pulled out a single folding chair and retrieved your notebook. It was important to keep track of Asahi’s form when serving, the times he made it versus when he didn’t, and the way that Nishinoya received them when he did.  
Of course, Asahi was so tense from having your eyes on him that you could tell it wasn’t his best work.

“Asahi! Loosen up!” Noya shouted from the other side of the net. He was getting impatient with the other’s behavior.

“This isn’t working…” You muttered to yourself as he missed again, clearly being too locked in the arms. Without prompting, you stood and walked over, earning both their attentions. “Do I scare you?” The question was blunt, but time was of the essence.

“H-Huh?!” Asahi gasped, floundering for some kind of response. “No?” He finally settled on, though it didn’t seem so confident.

“Do I set off your anxiety then?”

“N-no.” He wouldn’t look at you.

“I’m not going to take offense if I do, you can’t help that.” Those words brought Asahi’s eyes back to you, mouth open slightly. He wasn’t sure why you were always so understanding, but it almost felt like he still couldn’t quite answer you.

“I… I guess. A bit. Yeah.” Asahi’s face was warming up, especially with the way you kept leaning closer every time he shied away.

“Then maybe I can help.” You took a single step back, Nishinoya watching from the other side of the net. He seemed to be grumbling about something or other. “Whenever I’m scared or anxious about something, I always ask myself one question.”

“What’s that?”

“Will this matter in two years?” You smiled as you asked it, but of course Asahi wasn’t quite getting it. “If no one’s going to be remembering it in that long, then why worry about it now?”

“Oh. I see. That’s, actually really helpful!” Asahi was amazed, but all of a sudden, Noya couldn’t keep to himself any longer.

“What if it does matter in two years?!”

“Then freak the heck out, cause that’s apparently something pretty important.” You shrugged weakly, heading back to your seat and notebook.  
Even with Noya’s point, though, Asahi seemed to ease up and their practice resumed.

Time blew by like that, classes wrapping up and practices to keep track of in the evening. Every once in awhile you would trade with Kiyoko on who you were watching, just to mix it up a bit. Of course, Asahi still would get all shy with you, but you just reminded him that you wouldn’t remember in two years the exacts of his early serving, so it didn’t matter. Noya was getting better at setting, too, asking help from Sugawara on the form he needed.

The other group, which consisted of most everyone else, had been working on a synchronized attack. You noted the precision in timing involved with that one, which kind of made it more fun to watch. Tanaka liked to try and show off, though, regardless of whether it was Kiyoko or yourself taking notes. If it weren’t for both Daichi and Ennoshita in that group, you’d wonder how they’d get Tanaka to focus for longer than a minute.

At regularly scheduled practice, you always made sure to catch up with Yamaguchi about his serves, encouraging him whenever possible. It seemed Hinata and Kageyama still weren’t talking, but it wasn’t anywhere near your place to try and mess with that drama. If anyone was going to, it’d be Sugawara, but when you brought it up one time, he simply dismissed it. Ennoshita insisted you shouldn’t worry, but you wondered if everyone was too scared they’d permanently mess things up if they said anything.

Regardless, it soon became summer vacation. A whole week in Tokyo awaited you all.


	17. A Week in Tokyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember how the last chapter was my current longest at nearly 5k  
> This one is nearly 10k ;;v;;

**Day One**

 

You felt like you had  _ just _ taken this same trip down, although it had already been two weeks. The only stark difference was the amount of volume at any given time with Hinata excitedly bouncing up and down in his seat. There was still hours to go, the sun not yet peeking out from beyond the horizon; Your eyes felt heavy, but the aforementioned ball of energy wasn’t exactly giving you an easy time of relaxing.

“Can’t sleep?” Ennoshita softly asked you as you huffed out in irritation. You opened your eyes to look at him, sitting just to your right. The agreement was he got the window seat on the ride over and you got it on the ride back, so now you had nowhere to lean your face on for comfort.

“Nope.” You sat up, head tilted back to stare at the bus’ roof. “There’s a lot going on and it’s hard to be comfortable on a bus, ya know?” He nodded along to your words.

“Nervous about being back there again?”

“Hm… yes and no. Sure, it’s nice knowing that Kuroo and I are on good terms again, but on the other hand there’s a big difference between going somewhere for a weekend and for a week.”

“A week being five days in this case.” He reminded you.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s still awhile. And it’s going to be a long day ahead of us, so I’d like if I could get at least a little bit of sleep.”

“And force me to deal with a groggy you? Thanks, sure appreciate that again.” Ennoshita teased, much to your embarrassment. He hardly had to direct you around at all, but it was true that you became a bit more irritable with Tsukishima last time. “I’m kidding. Good luck getting your sleep.” His tired smile always comforted you. Suddenly, a voice shouted your name, causing you to flinch in your seat. As you turned your head around, you saw Noya leaning over the backside of bus’ upholstery.

“If you need a better place to sleep, Ryu and I have a lot of space back here!” He was so cheery in his offer, but deep down you knew his energy was contagious and you’d never sleep sitting near him.

“Thanks, but I should be fine.”

“Are you sure? You could sleep on my shoulder, I wouldn’t mind!” He grinned at you, to which you felt your face heating up. “What? That’s what you did with Chikara last time.”

“Huh?!” You whisper-shouted, taken aback but not about to try and wake up anyone else who might have been sleeping already.

“Noya, you can’t just say that!” Ennoshita’s face was distinctly red, eyes wide open in contrast to their usual half-lidded look.

“Nishinoya, you’re too short, I don’t think they could sleep on your shoulder without straining their neck.” Tsukishima, who had been silent the whole time with his headphones on, piped in. Nishinoya yelled something at him in turn, which only just woke up Daichi.

Then suddenly the bus ride became very quiet…

 

* * *

In the end, the amount of sleep you got was minimal, but the energy from your excitement to see Kuroo and Kenma again kept you going.

“There’s our country-side kid!” Kuroo greeted you, the quieter Kenma simply next to him.

“Yikes. That’s a bad nickname. Did you just come up with it now?” You tried to hold back your laughter, adjusting the bag on your shoulder. His gaze drifted off, a sure sign that he was thinking.

“Yeah, sorry. Last minute choice, made it kind of bad.”

“He thought of it this morning…” Kenma answered for him, earning a solid glare. They really hadn’t changed much at all from junior high. It was comforting, something nice and familiar in this world of new things. Hell, you were at a different highschool this time. “Is Shoyo here?”

“Hinata? Yeah, he should be getting off the bus by now.” You gestured with your thumb over the back of your shoulder towards the vehicle. Kenma nodded one time and waved, walking past you to see his friend. You certainly didn’t mind, just glad that you got to see him already. There were plenty of other times that week to chat.

“So, excited to be stuck with me all week?” Kuroo spoke up once more, grinning as he usually did. Most people might have been unsettled by his resting facial expression, but it, much like everything about him, brought you a sense of calming nostalgia.

“Hey, I have a job to do here. Can’t be seen hanging around a shady cat the whole time.”

“Ooo, shady cat. That’s a good one.”

“Certainly beats ‘country-side kid’.” You pointed out, shaking your head at the nickname. He chuckled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should be helping out my team. I’ll see you inside, though!” As you went to leave, he called out one more time.

“You could always join our team! I’ll get the papers together and everything! You can move in and live under my desk!” That certainly got a lot of the other guys around to stare, which, while embarrassing, just made you laugh more.

“You wish, Kuroo!” You shouted back, approaching the bus.

_ Yeah _ , he thought to himself.  _ Yeah I do. _

 

* * *

To your surprise, Coach Ukai actually utilized all members of the team, switching them out pretty regularly for the day. It was true everyone had been working hard to better themselves and their techniques, so it was nice to have it pay off, even if only for a practice match. Unfortunately, the other four schools were still far too powerful to overtake.  
It was all losses.

As the morning matches came to a close, Karasuno had one last penalty sprint uphill to do. You stood with Kiyoko at the top, water bottles prepped for when they made it. Daichi’s clap to signal ‘start’ gently echoes throughout the area, your eyes firmly watching each boy mustering up the strength to reach the top.

“Thank you.” Sugawara took the bottle from your hand, gratefully chugging likely half of it in one go. You giggled at that. “Hm? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing.” You waved him off, following him just a bit down the hill to rest. He offered his hand to help you with the steepness, but you politely declined, not sure if holding his hand would actually help or just make it harder. “I noticed Kageyama and Hinata were both quite different today. It’s like they completely changed over the last two weeks.”

“Yeah. I think they might’ve done more solo-training than the rest of us.” Suga laughed, trying to keep the mood light as the sun started to set in the distance. “They’re not talking still, which I have to admit is worrying, but… I can tell they’re doing their best.”

“How do you handle situations like that?” You rested your chin in the slight gap between your knees, staring down at the base of the hill. There were a few groups of people around, all enjoying the cool breeze that began to pick up as night grew closer. “Where you know someone needs help, but you’re not sure what you can do…?”

“Well, it depends. Everyone’s different, and while I like to help when I can, there’s just some things I’m not suited for. Just because someone needs to hear something, doesn’t mean you’re the one who’s supposed to say it. Sometimes when we intervene, we can break things beyond repair… so it can be better to just do nothing at all.” He finished, leaning his head to the side towards you.

“I guess you’re right.” You mumbled into your skin. Suga had a point, there were plenty of times where it hurt more than it helped to speak up. At the end of the day, where he couldn’t help Kageyama and Hinata, maybe you weren’t able to help Tsukishima. Before you could get too lost in thought, however, you could hear your name being called from the base of the hill. Kuroo looked up at you, waving his left arm slightly.

“I’ve got some people I’d like you to meet, c’mon!”

“Be there in a second!” You called back, carefully getting up onto your legs.

“Will you be alright going down the hill?” There was concern laced in Sugawara’s voice, but he maintained his calm smile.

“Yeah! I just can’t go stomping around. I’ll see you later, okay? Good luck with individual practice!” With that, you descended the hill and followed Kuroo through the back-paths until you arrived at the third gymnasium.

“Oi, Bokuto, Akaashi! Come meet my friend!” Kuroo raised up a single hand to call to the two Fukurodani players. The one with his hair standing straight up whipped his head around, mouth half-open in a lopsided smile.

“Hey, hey, hey! You’re the cute manager!” He shouted, his friend bowing politely beside him.

“C-Cute?” You muttered, not sure how to respond.

“Was that too much?” He seemed to genuinely ask, blinking a couple times. You shook your head ‘no’ although it  _ was _ . “Great! Has Kuroo been bothering you a lot? He usually can’t take a hint if you want him to leave you alone.”

“You’re not very good at that either, Bokuto.” The other one, Akaashi you obviously had to assume, interjected. You brought a hand to your mouth, silencing the laugh that threatened to escape you. Bokuto looked completely broken up, before he just got mad.

“Oi! I never bother anyone!” There was a long pause before his eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. “... Anymore.”

“Aren’t they a hoot?” Kuroo asked you, one eyebrow raised.

“Was that a pun?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged weakly just as Akaashi approached you. Standing with his hands behind his back and his expressional remaining unreadable, you certainly couldn’t assume much about him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Keiji Akaashi from Fukurodani. I’m sorry if these two end up causing you trouble.” His voice wasn’t gentle, but it was still soft, you noted.

“There’s no need for that.” You insisted, waving your one hand side to side. “I knew Kuroo in junior high. And Bokuto seems friendly.” Sure he was loud, but so was half your team. Akaashi gently nodded at that, mouth completely neutral.

The four of you chatted for a short time, you getting to know the two players from Fukurodani. It was nice meeting them, even if it was sudden. Kuroo had a habit of pushing you out of your comfort zone, so it was only a matter of time before he tried to introduce you to someone, but he never pushed too much, keeping things that made you nervous to a smaller scale.  
He soon ditched you, however, to go ‘whip some guy into shape’ from his team. Apparently that really tall first year with the silver hair wasn’t so great at receiving. You quietly watched from the side, calling out advice to him (Lev, you picked up on).

That was, until, Bokuto was very loudly complaining about his lack of blockers.

“Hittin’ spikes without anyone to block is no fun.” He pouted, arms crossed while he stood in the doorway. Kuroo sighed, leaving Lev half-conscious on the gym floor. You chose not to question it.

“Just go find someone to block, then, Bo.”

“And where am I going to find someone now?”

When all hope seemed lost, both of their eyes lit up as they gazed outside. From where you were sat, you had no idea what they were doing. Until, of course, they were calling out to someone. And then it clicked.

Tsukishima stepped into the gym after some provoking from the way-too-irritating Kuroo, only to lock eyes with you for an uncomfortably long time.

“Glasses, I’m sure you know your manager there.” Kuroo joked, gesturing towards where you sat. Being put on the spot, you weakly waved, but didn’t smile, if only because Tsukishima didn’t look in the mood. “Now if you’ll excuse me… LEV!”

You hadn’t spoken much to Tsukishima since your awkward walk home. He was never one to stay late after practice, so for the last two weeks the two of you hardly interacted. Watching him jump blocks for Bokuto just felt weird, like you weren’t supposed to be oddly focused on him. Okay, maybe you really weren’t.  
For a while the practice continued, until Kuroo abandoned the most likely passed out Lev to help block. With two blockers now, there was certainly a pressure on Bokuto. Kuroo was intelligent, much like Tsukishima, the main difference being he actually knew how to use his smarts for effective blocking. You were always impressed with him in junior high, but now you could really see how talented he became.

Without your noticing, however, the atmosphere suddenly changed and there was a vague tension coming from the grouping. You began to listen more closely to their words.

“Talk like that, and the little shrimp is going to hog all the glory. You guys play the same position, right?” Kuroo was trying for his usual methods of provoking, you could tell. This wouldn’t end well…

“I don’t think that can be helped. The difference in natural talent between me and Hinata is too great.” Tsukishima looked genuinely… bashful about it. That was certainly a side you weren’t used to, his eerie politeness put you on edge. Was that his way of running from the underlying issue? Kuroo and Bokuto both looked a bit taken aback, about to say something when a couple members from Nekoma bounded in. Their voices filled the room and you nearly missed what Tsukishima said next. “Well looks like I’ll be in the way. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Kuroo, what the hell.” You scolded him, having gotten up just in time for your teammate to slowly head off.

“Looks like you stepped on a mine.” Akaashi spoke up, though his expression remained the same.

“You pissed him off!” Bokuto sang out. “At long last, Kuroo, the master of provocation has failed!”

“Well I wouldn’t have thought that…” The Nekoma captain was frowning, still staring off towards the exit.

“Hm? Thought what?” You noted the way Bokuto’s volume settled down as he tilted his head in question. Kuroo let out a small sigh before explaining.

“Karasuno’s shrimp is definitely strange and a threat, but in terms of technique and experience he’s like a baby bird. Plus he’s really short. I never would have thought guy with the glasses, who’s taller and much smarter, would not only think they’re not equal, but actually think the shrimp’s above his level.”

“I’m going to find him.” You didn’t give the others a chance to tell you ‘no’, choosing instead to speed walk out the door and in the direction you assumed Tsukishima would go. Despite his long legs, it seemed he didn’t walk fast at all, or maybe he had to return to grab something, because you found him with little trouble. “Tsukishima! Wait up!” You shouted, not even hiding the bit of frustration that laced your words. He stopped and turned to you.

“What?” He wasn’t hiding his irritation either. Truthfully, you wouldn’t have asked him to. It was better for things to be out in the open. But why were you pissed at him? Hadn’t you gone out there to make sure he was okay?

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Before you could even think why you were saying that, it had already come out. Tsukishima’s eyes widened slightly, but soon they narrowed again.

“What are you talking about?” It was a good question.. One that you were internally wrestling with at that very moment. Then it all clicked together for you.

“You can’t just go around talking yourself down like that!” You were shouting, for whatever reason. It was just so frustrating to see someone so talented just throw it away because they deemed themselves not good enough. What right did he have to do that? What right did he have when you couldn’t do _ anything _ ?!

“I wasn’t. That was merely me stating a fact. Hinata and I can’t be compared.” And he called  _ you _ nonchalant. Yeah, right.

“Stop that! God, you’re such an idiot, what makes you decide you just can’t get better?! I mean, just--” You had to physically stop yourself, you were getting too worked up. You wanted to help, truly. You wanted to be able to say all the right words, explain how he has everything there right in front of him to work with, if he just put his heart into it! Worked a little harder and saw that he could be amazing and finally find a love for the sport he’s devoted so many hours to.

But you couldn’t. You had all the words and none of the answers.

 

_ “Just because someone needs to hear something, doesn’t mean you’re the one who’s supposed to say it. Sometimes when we intervene, we can break things beyond repair…” _

 

Sugawara’s words slid into your mind. This was one of those times, no doubt. The way Tsukishima had his eyes on you, angry and intense… the more you ended up saying, the more he would resent those words and himself.

“Nevermind…” You turned away from him, walking along the outside wall of the gymnasium.

“No. What is it?!” Tsukishima was growing impatient.

“I said nevermind!” You made a 180 on your heels, shouting again. Before you could go to leave once more, though, you found yourself with your back against the wall, one of Tsukishima’s hands slamming against the surface beside your head. Every part of you tensed up, never having been that close to him, let alone that threatened.

“Why won’t you tell me? It’s pissing me off.” He practically growled. This was yet another new side to him you hadn’t seen.

“Because I’m not the one you need to hear this from.” Your voice gave away mid sentence, but you held your ground for another moment. When it seemed he wouldn’t respond, you stepped forward, gently bumping into him as you passed.  
Without looking back, you went straight to bed.

 

**Day Two**

 

You weren’t excited for breakfast time; Not wanting to run into Tsukishima after the bit of conflict the night before, and not really ready to deal with a bitter Kuroo who you never returned to. With all that in mind, you opted for getting up late, well aware that both of them (despite all appearances) were early birds. As you had predicted, the cafeteria was mostly half empty by the time you went, just a few familiar faces around at the tables.  
Before you had the chance to settle on sitting alone, Asahi noticed you and waved shyly. He was most certainly preferable company.

“Good morning!” You gave him your best smile, settling into the seat across from him. “Late rise?” You asked, gesturing towards his still steaming breakfast. He chuckled nervously.

“Could say the same to you. Although… you usually aren’t.” Asahi pointed out with another breathy laugh.  _ Nervous habit? _ You wondered. “What’s got you sleeping in so late?”

“Eh. I was up helping Kuroo out.” You weren’t exactly lying.

“The Nekoma Captain?”

“The one and only.” You twirled your fork around dramatically, as if presenting him as a member of royalty. “He’s a pretty nice guy, I promise. A bit shady, though, if you know what I mean.”

“Sh-Shady?” Asahi looked a bit taken aback at your choice of adjectives.

“Yeah, like, he’s good at provoking and getting in your head. He’s always been smart as long as I’ve known him, usually somewhere near the top of the class. According to Kenma, he still is. Oh! Uh, Kenma’s their setter.” You stopped only to take another bite of food before continuing along. “Don’t let all of that fool you, though. It just means he’s a giant nerd. He likes to think he’s smooth, but half the time he utterly screws up.”

You looked up after a bit of Asahi’s silence, wondering what was wrong. When your eyes landed on his face, he blinked. It was as if he was completely floored with what you just said, though you weren’t sure why. Everything you stated were facts, simple as that.

“S-Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve just… never seen you talk that comfortably for so long.”

“Oh.” Was all you could respond. Were you that comfortable looking? Did that mean there were times before where you had looked incredibly uncomfortable? Did anyone else seem to notice that?

“Usually when you talk for a long time you start sounding… uncertain or something. Or you’re trying to get something accomplished. It’s not often that you talk because you want to.” Well… were you really that transparent?

“U-Um…”

“Sorry! I think I’m just making you uncomfortable again! I think I only noticed because… well… that’s how I am, too. You get anxious around new people, right?” His expression was soft, one of patient listening. It melted your heart a bit.

“Right. I get scared in new situations…”

“Then that just means, maybe… um… maybe we don’t feel so scary and new anymore?” He had floundered a bit in the middle of the sentence, his hand opening and closing in a mock gesture, but quickly found where he was going. In fact, he nailed it. When did Karasuno suddenly feel so at-home for you?

That was usually a sign things would be changing…

 

* * *

Stepping out onto the courts with the rest of the team gave you just the shield you needed to avoid Tsukishima and for Kuroo to give you only a moderately difficult time about ditching them. You felt guilty already, so he didn’t want to push too much.  
The second day of matches weren’t wholly different from the last, another large number of losses piling onto the previous day’s, but you could still see the level of improvement everyone was reaching. Everyone except Tsukishima.

As a nice midday treat, it seemed some parents from the school brought watermelon, so once more everyone sat outside on the hill, enjoying the break. Once your plate of watermelon was gone (everyone having gotten their pieces) you found Kuroo walking over, eyeing Tsukishima as he left.

“Think he’s still mad at me?” He wondered aloud, taking another bite of the watermelon held in his hands.

“Us, probably.” As much as you hadn’t wanted to admit it, you certainly had a hand in the middle blocker’s bad mood. “I might have made things worse.”

“And here I thought you just ditched us to get some sleep early.” The grin he gave you made you roll your eyes.

“We should probably apologize to Daichi for messing up the team dynamic.” You chose to ignore his last comment, instead moving on. Kuroo didn’t seem to try and bring it back, agreeing with you.

“Hey, sorry by the way, I might have pissed off your glasses guy.” Kuroo started, getting Daichi’s attention. Tanaka and Asahi stood and sat, respectively, on either side of him.

“Tsukishima.” You reminded him quietly.

“Yeah. That one.”

“What happened?” Daichi inquired with his mouth half full of watermelon. Taking a seat on the grass of the hill, Kuroo went on to explain exactly how he and Bokuto dragged Tsukishima into practicing. Even more than that, how Kuroo’s provoking only seemed to make matters worse.

“And I might have, maybe, tried to talk to him afterwards. Which, uh, didn’t go so hot.” You thought back to the look in his eyes and shuddered slightly.

“I’ve definitely noticed that Tsukishima seems to feel inferior to Hinata somehow.” Asahi reflected, gaze drifting upwards.

“I’m not sure if this is relevant, but my sister… “ Tanaka continued on about how his sister knew of a Tsukishima back around the time of the Little Giant.

“So he might have an older brother?” You and Daichi asked at the same time.

“I’m not sure.” Tanaka waved his hand in dismissal. “They could just have the same last name and not be related.”

“Hey! We’re about to start!” Suga’s shouting got all of your attention, bringing the pleasant break to a rushed end.

 

* * *

As night drew near again, the practice matches ending for the day, you stretched and let out a strong sigh. It wasn’t like you had been doing all that much, simply helping where you were needed and taking notes when applicable, but walking up and down that hill was starting to make your ankle ache. It was a good thing you remembered to bring your painkillers or you wouldn’t have survived the week.

“Hey, four eyes! Would you help us out with spiking practice again?” You could hear Bokuto’s booming voice as he approached Tsukishima. The latter looked unimpressed. In fact, it appeared he declined all together, a rather upset Hinata chasing after him in not-so-quiet jealousy.

“Well that’s unsurprising…” You mumbled, Yamaguchi frowning next to you.

“Kuroo!” Bokuto called out once more, this time for the Nekoma captain.

“Aw, man…”

“I haven’t even said anything yet!” The flip in personality was amusing, to say the least.

“Fine, fine. But I get to bring them again.” Kuroo gestured towards you with a small smirk.

“Wh… I don’t get a say in it?” You shot back, crossing both arms in front of you. Of course, you knew exactly how he’d choose to respond, but giving in too easily would just get old. “I have my own team, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, and I offered to have you transferred. Even offered you a place to  _ sleep _ !” He pretended to look offended, Bokuto just looking back and forth in vague confusion.

“There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping under you desk. Why do you even need to bring me along?”

“Hmm… eye candy?” He weakly offered up, clearly not having an answer prepared.

“I’m going to punch you in the mouth later. I have a couple more things to do, but I’ll meet you guys there.” You scooted them off, promising to meet at gymnasium three once you were ready. You let out one more sigh.

“Kuroo sure seems to like you.” Ennoshita’s sudden interjection startled you and you whipped around to face him.

“Uh, yeah, I… uh… I guess.” You weren’t sure how you were supposed to react. Yeah, it was a huge change from the first weekend how he treated you, but… now you were just good friends again, right?

“You knew him in junior high, right?” He felt stupid asking you questions all of a sudden. The only reason he said anything in the first place was to feel less stupid about staring your conversation down, and well, now he was just another level of feeling stupid. Unaware of the inner workings of his mind, you nodded.

“Sorry… I know I’m spending a lot of time with him lately.” You shyly rubbed at the back of your neck, wondering if your team was upset with your evening absences.

“No, no! It’s great!” Ennoshita felt himself hold back on the final word, a sure sign he was lying to some degree. “You only get to see him this week, I get that.” You were glad to have a friend so understanding at the end of the day.

With a small bit of relief, you said your goodbyes and slowly headed off to find your bag. Grabbing the pills from inside it, you took a swig of water and swallowed. Hopefully that’d help at least a bit.

 

* * *

The walk back over to the third gymnasium was supposed to be uneventful, you reminded yourself, but just as you rounded the corner to find the entrance, you could hear Yamaguchi yelling Tsukishima’s nickname.

“... Other entrance it is.” You muttered to yourself, turning on your heel and heading to the other side of the building. The walk was longer, but whatever was going on at the other side was none of your business. You had decided already you weren’t meant to be the one to help Tsukishima with his inferiority complex. Yamaguchi could handle things well enough on his own.

You took your time, trying hard to keep the weight off of your right leg with each step. Maybe it was over cautious, but it was also only day two of five. The last thing you wanted was to be making things worse in the middle of a trip. Soon enough, the gym’s entry way came into view, and you found yourself stepping inside at a rather… opportune time.

“Say, four eyes!” Bokuto’s voice nearly echoed in the open space of the gymnasium. It seemed he (along with Kuroo and Akaashi) were talking to Tsukishima. You chose to maintain your distance.

“It’s Tsukishima.”

“Say, Tsukishima! Is volleyball fun?” The taller blonde seemed to ponder the question.

“No, not really.” He shrugged as he said the words.

“Maybe that’s because you suck.” You hadn’t known Bokuto long at all, but boy did you notice how blunt he could be. Tsukishima looked taken aback. “I’m a third year and I’ve been to nationals, and I’m better than you. Like way better!” He held up two fingers as if to help his argument somehow.

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Tsukishima flatly stated.

“But I only recently started thinking volleyball was fun.” Bokuto went on to explain what changed for him; A single moment where he overcame a blocker on his second try with his straight. You listened intently along with Tsukishima, you assumed. “It all depends on if you have that moment or not.”

Suddenly the air felt heavier and you watched as the previously lighthearted, or even downright childish atmosphere around Bokuto turned into something more intense.

“It doesn’t really matter what happens in the future,” He began. “Or if you can win your next match. The joy you feel beating the guy in front of you, And when you’re able to pull out 120% of your potential, is _everything_.” His pressure eased up once more as he adjusted his stance. “Well, at least that’s how it is for me, and it doesn’t mean that applies to everyone. I don’t really understand why you say ‘it’s just a club’, but I don’t think you’re wrong. But once that moment arrives for you, that’s the moment you’ll be hooked on volleyball!” Bokuto brought up his right arm, hand pointing at Tsukishima.

Everything at once felt still and Tsukishima remembered your words from a couple weeks ago.

 

_ “But you want an actual reason, something that’ll prove itself one day, and that’s not what I have for you. But, hey, someday, someone might come along and give you exactly what you’re looking for.” _

 

Damn it. He hated how you were right.

“Alright!” Bokuto clapped his hands together, standing beside him now. “I answered your question, now help with blocking.”

“All right, now. Come on, hurry it up. And you!” Kuroo raised his voice at the last second, point directly at you. “Stop gawking in the doorway and ref for us!” Tsukishima glanced over, looking surprised at your appearance. You smiled and waved weakly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

 

* * *

“Yamaguchi?” Your voice was quiet as you noticed the freckled boy out walking so late. Kuroo and the others had wrapped up, but you split off to get some fresh air before calling it a night. So, of course, you hadn’t expected to see anyone.

“Oh! Uh, hi.” He forced a smile, making his way over. “I didn’t expect to see anyone.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” You admitted, patting the bit of wall next to you as an offer. Yamaguchi accepted, sitting down on the surface, his feet still touching the ground. He was quite tall, although everyone always focused on Tsukishima’s height in the end. “I just needed some fresh air and a place to sit.”

“Yeah.” He seemed lost in thought.

“Sooo… I heard you yelling earlier. Wanna talk about it?” No use dancing around the question, you figured.

“Y-You heard that?!” He practically yelped. His eyes were wide and his cheeks seemed to warm up to a soft pink. “I, uh… I went to talk to Tsukki.”

“Well I  _ could _ gather that.” You teased lightly. He was supposed to chuckle, but it seemed he wasn’t in such a playful mood.

“When I was a kid, I was made fun of a lot.” His shoulder suddenly tensed up, eyes falling to the ground. “Tsukki was someone I looked up to. He never cared what other people thought, but he was cool anyway. He was always really cool.” There was a soft smile replacing his sad one. “But lately…”

“He’s been giving in.” You finished for him. “Giving into doubts and insecurity.” The second sentence was mumbled, but Yamaguchi nodded along.

“Yeah, exactly. He’s been really lame. But worse than that, I’ve had to watch him slowly think less of himself… and do nothing about it. So I went to tell him what’s been on my mind.”

“How do you think it went?”

“Well? I think.” Yamaguchi wasn’t looking so sure, but you decided not to press further until he was done. “He went to talk to Fukurodani’s captain and Kuroo, I… think.” There was a pause. “He said I was cool, just before he left.”

“You are cool.” You simply stated, shrugging. The look in his eyes suddenly changed and his posture worsened.

“I’m not.” He muttered bitterly, holding back something. “Not yet.”

“... Why do you think that?” You kept your tone of voice softer, waiting patiently for his answer.

“I haven’t done anything yet. I’m not like everyone else.” There were tears threatening to spill from his eyes, and you found yourself reaching out to grip his hand before even thinking about it. Taken by surprise, he looked over at you.

“Hey. You’ve done plenty whether you realize it or not. I wasn’t there… when you missed the serve, but… I talk from experience, okay? You did the best you could, and that’s always enough. Because as long as you pick yourself back up and keep fighting, you’ve never lost.” You noted the way his eyes widened with your every word, how he began to hold his breath. “You’re as cool as it gets. All of you are, whether you’re out there for a second or for an hour. When you give it your heart, that’s all that matters.”

Yamaguchi swallowed hard, turning to look away. He didn’t want to admit it, but he definitely felt something there.  
Maybe, just a little, he had even hoped you would have kissed him.

 

**Day Three**

 

The third day of practice matches proved to be… interesting.  
To start with, you noticed the way Tsukishima had changed, actually taking the time to put effort into his blocks against Bokuto in the first match. Hell, Bokuto even wimped out at the end of a spike and feinted. Sure, it got them a point, but his entire team called him out on it. Regardless you were glad to see that the words of Fukurodani’s captain got through to Tsukishima.

Later on, during a match against Nekoma (Where Kuroo may have joked a bit too much about you joining the team at the start) there was something else noteworthy. It happened just after Hinata managed to cover and hit the ball over the net.

“You held back didn’t you?!” He was very suddenly shouting at Kageyama, eyes furious. You flinched, just listening. Daichi eyed them carefully, not sure whether to step in or not.

“Held… back? Me? With Volleyball? Say that again.” Kageyama wasn’t so happy either it seemed, and soon Daichi had to step in to calm them down. You simply had to watch from the sidelines, hardly acknowledging Kuroo’s concerned look shot your way.  
It seemed there was some sort of conflict resolution later on, but you weren’t around to see it, instead stuck in the usual gymnasium three with the trio of not-on-your-team guys you were always around. You weren’t complaining, of course. It was a nice change of pace from the rest of the year, getting to learn from and talk to, as Tanaka would call them, ‘city boys’.

The main difference, however, was that Tsukishima was now a part of this odd group. That… made things a bit odd for you, but since Yamaguchi had talked to him, you sensed a feeling of resolution between the two of you. It was as if you never pissed him off in the first place.

“Oh? Tsukishima did you bring a friend today?” Bokuto’s gaze turned to the door and you followed it, noting Hinata’s head peeking in there with a look of shock. He had been found out.

“Pardon?” Tsukishima turned around now, too. “What happened to your partner?” He deadpanned. You chose that moment to stand up from your resting place against the wall.

“Kageyama’s practicing on his own again.” Hinata plainly stated with a bit of a chuckle to his voice. “I was trying to get Kenma to throw me tosses, but he ran away after the fifth one.” The fact he got him to toss at all sounded impressive enough. Seemed Kenma was pretty fond of Hinata after all.

“It’s amazing that you got Kenma to even give you five during practice.” Kuroo confirmed your own thoughts, stepping closer to the group.

“So…” Hinata started to speak, but you distinctly heard footsteps fast approaching.

“Please let me practice with you!!!” Hinata’s plead was joined by another voice in oddly perfect unison. Lev now stood in the entryway as well, towering over the crow in height, but their grins seemed pretty identical.

“Lev!”

“Oh, Hinata.”

You sighed, already dreading the potential headache from having not one, not two,  _ but three _ louder volleyball players in the vicinity.  
Sure enough, once Lev insisted Yaku let him leave receiving practice early, Kuroo had one of his brilliant ideas.

“Then, we have the right number of people. So let’s play some 3-on-3!” He grinned at them all before turning to look at you. “Can you keep score for us?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.” You gave him a half-hearted thumbs up in response.

“If only you could play, too.” He sighed, walking over. Before you could react, he was rather forcefully ruffling your hair. You struggled, trying to get out of his reach, but he wrapped an arm around your torso, leaving you trapped. “A shame! A real shame! You tell me if that foot ever gets better, you got that?” It was all in kind jest, and you couldn’t help but laugh as he finally let go and you could feel every hair on your head standing up.

“K-Kuroo…?” Akaashi asked quietly. The Nekoma captain hummed back, showing he was listening. “Was that really necessary?”

“You bet it was. Now let’s divide up the teams.”

The team division seemed… unbalanced. Hinata, Bokuto, and Akaashi were on team Owl and Kuroo, Lev, and Tsukishima were team Cat. You flipped over the point value any time it was needed, yelling out encouragement to both sides. Kuroo complained about that, but you paid little attention to him. He seemed to hate  _ that _ more.  
However, you were all interrupted suddenly by the two Fukurodani Managers whom you had gotten the chance to know at least a bit well.

“Um, if you don’t wrap up soon, the cafeteria will close and you won’t get any dinner.” Yukie, the veteran manager of the two, stated. The group dispersed after that, Kuroo promising Hinata that the match could continue tomorrow night.

 

**Day Four**

 

“Hey, stranger!” Sugawara sat next to you at breakfast the next morning, smiling as he usually did. “How’ve you been?”

“Hey, Suga. Morning. I’ve been well, I think.” You saw him grin at his name, nodding along to your short answer. “Kuroo’s been keeping me company since I’ve had to take it a bit easier than the other managers, but really I think it’s the other way around.”

“He really seems to like you.” Sugawara noted, taking a bite of his fruit.

“Yeah, Ennoshita said the same thing the other night.”

“Probably because he misses you so much.” That made you stop for a second, face flushing.

“Wh-- Huh--- What was that?”

“Ennoshita misses you. Tanaka, too, now that I think about it. They’ve both been kinda down at practice since the first night.” His gaze shifted over to watch your expression before he gave you bashful grin. “Though if I can be honest, I’m missing you a lot, too.”

“Sh-Shut up.” You lowered your head, shoveling more food into your mouth. Allowing yourself to calm down, you decided to turn the tables, so to speak. “So that’s why you’re sitting so close to me at breakfast, hm?” As per usual, the second you teased him back, he reacted strongly.

“I! Um, I just wanted to check up on you is all…” Not his strongest defense, that was for sure. “Tomorrow’s our last day here. I know you’re running out of time to be here with him, so… don’t worry too much about us, okay?”

 

* * *

As practice matches wrapped up once more, you could feel a knot twisting up in your stomach. It was true, what Sugawara had said at breakfast, that you were running out of time with Kuroo. Funny, you had been closest to Kenma before that week, but Kuroo had a weird way of always inviting himself into your schedule, something Kenma would never do.  
Now… you were going to miss him like hell.

“Hey, what’s got you so down?” Kuroo leaned forward to be at eye level with you, snapping you out of your day dreams. “You alright?”

“Yeah! Yeah, sorry about that. Just… out of it I guess.” You shrugged weakly, supplying a soft laugh. He wasn’t looking convinced, but with a sigh, he eased up on you, choosing to drop the topic.

“We’ve got that 3-on-3 to continue tonight. You still up for keeping score?” He wanted to press more on what was bothering you, really. Except he had a few guesses, and none of them sat right with him. Kuroo wanted to focus on the now, wanted to focus on being near you and getting to see you.

“Of course. Lead the way, Shady cat.”

“I see that one’s stickin’.”

 

* * *

It was in the middle of a break that Tsukishima decided to ask a question that had been bugging him for awhile, just after Kuroo had given another tip.

“Um, we are technically opponents as soon as we’re in a match, right? Why are you giving us advice?” He paused a moment, suddenly side eyeing you. “Is it because you-know-who is our manager?”

“Hey, I’m right here.” You shot back with a raise of the eyebrow.

“What? No.” Kuroo widened his stance, placing a single hand over his chest and leaving his other out to gesture. “I’ve always been a nice person.” Tsukishima and Hinata remained unconvinced if their faces had anything to say about it. “You don’t have to look at me like that…” There was a certain venom to his words now.

Kuroo continued to speak, explaining how he, much like their coaches, wanted to see the Battle at the Garbage Dump made into a reality. He even went further on to try and pass it off as practice for himself as well, but you knew his very first statement was true.  
He was a nice guy, deep down. There was no denying the level of kindness he wanted to give to others even if his methods were a bit unorthodox.

Practice continued on pretty steadily. Hinata was even given a chance to learn about rebounding and, much to your amazement, pulled off a successful wipe after aiming at Lev’s fingertips. Even more than that, Bokuto took the time to teach Hinata about feints, although you were certain he would have caught onto that technique through Tsukishima. Perhaps he just needed more of a reason to use it, and that  _ was _ what Bokuto was giving him.

“Hey.” As the seven of you were ready to call it a day, Tsukishima stopped you, avoiding eye contact. You waited a bit, trying to see what his intentions were. “What you were trying to do for me the other night… it was frustrating and pissed me off.” Wait, you reminded yourself internally. He always sounded like an asshole at first. “But… I know you were trying to help. So…” He shifted uncomfortably a bit more.

Oh. He was struggling. Tsukishima was actually trying to  _ thank you _ , wasn’t he?

“You don’t have to say it.” You told him flat out. “Wouldn’t want you popping a blood vessel, after all.” His look of irritation at that had you smirking up a storm. Kuroo would be proud.

“Tch.” Ah, the good standard Tsukishima reply.

 

**Day Five**

 

It was suddenly the last day of the training camp, much to your disappointment. What had started as an anxiety inducing new experience was soon becoming a comfortable routine, and a place where you could be around your friends for longer periods of time.  
Regardless, you had to keep your chin up, just enough to make it through the day. There were matches left, still, even if not that many.

The second-to-last match was a loss, as per usual, your team performing their lap of diving receives. Honestly, they were getting really good, especially Hinata who used to be unable to do them at all.  
There was one more match left and as you turned, you made eye contact with the captain of the team you were supposed to go against. Bokuto waved brightly having noticed you, to which you waved back. He really was a friendly guy, always made you want to root for him.

When you went to turn back to Karasuno, however, you were… perplexed. Daichi seemed to have said  _ something _ that really hyped up some of the other members. Nishinoya, Hinata, and Tanaka were all dancing with their arms raised up, Kageyama not too far away trying something similar.

“Guys…?” You muttered, making a face you  _ knew _ you had seen Akaashi make once or twice in response to Bokuto’s behavior. You often found yourself wondering how the Fukurodani setter dealt with anything.

 

* * *

In the midst of the match, you found yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, eyes carefully watching the action. Everyone was on the top of their game, you could tell, and looking at Kageyama, you knew he could tell, too.  
If ever there was a time to make their new move come together… now would be the time.

You found yourself practically gasping as Kageyama last second tossed toward Hinata, the ball spinning until finally, so very suddenly you could blink and miss it, it stopped, and Hinata full-force spiked it down. The reaction from the team was priceless.

“The first cog.” You could hear Takeda-sensei excitedly whispering.

You began to understand what he meant, as Noya successfully did a Libero-set and the rest of the team managed a full-on synchronized attack. The team was coming together better than ever before. Your eye lit up as the score stayed rather even all throughout. They were honest to goodness giving Fukurodani a run for its money!  
And you could see that each block was getting more and more on Bokuto’s nerves.

“Bokuto, stay calm!” Akaashi reminded his Captain just before he was about to serve. You noted the actual sternness in his tone. Just hanging around him for the last few days gave you an odd insight into his mannerisms and subtle changes of voice.

“I am calm!” Clearly he wasn’t. “Alright, here I go!” The toss went up, but blinded by his frustration, the ball ended up served straight into the net, and almost to the back of poor Konoha’s head. “Damn it! I’m sorry!” Bokuto fell to his knees, clutching at his head as if he had just done the worst thing imaginable.

The score was now 19 to 19. Tanaka served next, nearly hitting it out of bounds, but Bokuto still connected it, calling for a spike.  
You could practically see Akaashi running through scenarios in his head.  
He tossed to Bokuto, but having three blockers who at that point in time were well adjusted to his tempo, there was no chance of getting through. The Ace opted instead for a rebound, his teammate picking the ball back up and sending it to Akaashi. Once again, Bokuto called for the toss, and as he went to hit it…

“Did he just… Did that just hit the net?” You were whispering to yourself, watching the scene play out right in front of your eyes and still not believing it.

“... A Spike miss…” Kiyoko added beside you. Bokuto wasn’t looking so good, he breathed heavily, his shoulders moving up and down with the tempo. His whole team stared blankly until finally he spoke.

“Akaashi…” You could barely hear from where you sat. “Don’t toss to me anymore!” There was a lot of emotion in that shout, but based on the nonchalant attitude of Fukurodani, that couldn’t have been a one time thing.

“Alright then.” Akaashi responded with a sigh, turning away just slightly. “Then please calm down in the time that I’m not tossing to you.”

Sure enough, Akaashi stopped setting to Bokuto, and said Ace became a stumbling mess of a player. That didn’t mean Fukurodani was suddenly a pushover, though; The rest of the members began to shine through, getting themselves all the way up to match point. Karasuno was just barely behind, certainly capable of bringing it to deuce. Except---

The toss went up, your eyes following it as you noticed the trajectory. Akaashi was tossing to Bokuto again, for the final point. Tsukishima seemed to catch onto this, but just a second too late, as Bokuto was already in the air, his hand colliding with the ball, and winning them the game.

“Damn it…” You let out a sigh, shaking your head. They were so close, too.

 

* * *

“Ohhh, so no one told them about the barbeque.” You nodded in understanding, helping Kiyoko and the other managers move the boxes of vegetables to the cutting table. “That sure explains the, uh… dance they decided to do before the final match.”

“Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.” Eri, the Ubugawa manager, was suddenly looking your way, all smiles. “What’s your relationship with Kuroo?”

“With him? We were friends in junior high, I haven’t seen him in forever.” You explained simply, dropping off the crate full of lettuce.

“Ah! Okay! Sorry if I was prying too much, I just couldn’t help but ask!” She clapped her hands together in apology, but you were soon waving her off. “You seem close to a lot of the guys on your team, it’s kind of cute!”

“Oh. I guess.” You weren’t sure how to respond, choosing instead to focus on the head of lettuce in your hands.  
Was it that way, looking from the outside in? It seemed a lot of people were questioning you and Kuroo, which was fair enough since you hardly left his side the whole trip. But for Eri to flat out say you seemed particularly close with multiple guys in Karasuno… well… you couldn’t help but wonder.  
Was it obvious that you liked someone?

 

* * *

Once all of the food preparation was finished, the managers were free to go enjoy some of the barbeque as well, much to your delight. It was the last chance you had to be around these other schools; Kuroo, Kenma, Bokuto, and Akaashi in particular were going to be sorely missed on your part. While the first two were old friends who, of course you’d miss, the latter two were some you surprisingly grew attached to. Spending a lot of extra time watching the 3-on-3 certainly gave you a good chance to get to know them.

“Doing alright?” Nishinoya, with a plate stacked rather high, approached you, smiling kindly.

“I feel like everyone’s been asking me that lately.” You kept your gaze to the side, not wanting to give too much away in your face.

“Hm… maybe you should stop looking so sad and distant then?” So much for that plan. “We only ever ask if you’re okay when we think you might not be, of course!”

“You got me there.”

“So! Tell ol’ Nishinoya-senpai what’s troubling you!” He gave you an exaggerated wink, shoving some food into his mouth.

“Noya… we’re in the same year.”

“U-Unimportant!” He insisted, trying not to choke.

“I’m fine, really. It’ll just be… sad having to leave and all.” Your face grew pensive, thinking too much about Kuroo not able to be with you anymore. Even further, still, you were upset that you couldn’t have been there to help and support everyone on your team. They were growing so much, to just see the end result was kind of sad, too. Like skipping to the end of a movie where everything resolves.

“Hey.” Noya earned your attention, chewing up his food before continuing on. “For every great memory we make, there’s a thousand more still! Stop thinking too hard about it. Just look forward to the next time we get to make memories, okay?” He flashed you his cheesiest grin, warming your heart to its very core.

“Yeah. You got it. I’m going to go see some of the others.”

 

* * *

You spent a lot of the barbeque forcing yourself to be a social butterfly.  
You had one more chat with all the managers, although you kept getting an uneasy feeling that you were all being stared at. Not wanting to deal with the possibility of that being true, you simply ignored the sensation and enjoyed yourself. They were all so nice to you and it was fun exchanging stories about the boys on your team. Though, some of them were convinced a few of your interactions were more than platonic.

There was even a part of the time where you sat with Kenma and watched him play a game on his phone. He would stop and explain certain bits without your asking, which you actually appreciated. It was always nice when he told you anything unprompted, it meant he was comfortable.  
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi hung around the same area, the latter sometimes chiming in with something to say. Eventually Kuroo, Daichi, and Bokuto cornered the three, though, insisting they hadn’t eaten enough.

Kenma fled at the first sighting of vegetables.

Akaashi, to your surprise, didn’t mind having you around to talk. He wasn’t exactly the most emotive, but he smiled when you asked if he’d mind you chatting with him. You learned a lot about Bokuto just from listening; They were apparently good friends off the court, too, although the Ace was certainly too much to handle at some points. As if summoned by his own name, Bokuto jumped into the conversation. While loud and blunt at times, he was friendly and passionate about a lot of things.  
You really admired his wit and enthusiasm. In some ways he was like Noya.

“You look exhausted.” As you sat down next to Ennoshita, he thought it wise to point out your visible social-exhaustion. “I never took you as the social butterfly.”

“I’m usually not.” You insisted, head lulling to your side and quite nearly making contact with Ennoshita’s shoulder. His face flushed a bit, eyes darting to Narita and Kinoshita in the distance. The blonde merely laughed, doubling over, whereas Narita motioned for him to scoot closer.  _ Sure, _ he thought bitterly. _ It’s definitely that simple _ .

“What’s got you so tired?” Tsukishima suddenly sat down at the spot on the other side of you.

“People. People are very exhausting.” You dramatically proclaimed, rubbing your eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Yamaguchi was hunted down by Daichi. I escaped Kuroo using Bokuto as a distraction. Not sure where Kenma ended up.” He shrugged at that thought, gaze falling to you. There was a moment of hesitation, until suddenly he was tugging on your sleeve, causing you to lean into him.

“Uh, Tsukishima…?” Your eyes were wide open now despite your tiredness before.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.” He huffed out, avoiding anyone’s eyes. “You looked tired.”

Ennoshita mentally kicked himself for not thinking to do that.  
 _Damn it, Tsukishima, why did you have to be so cool?!_

 

* * *

Soon enough, the barbeque drew to a close, and you found yourself standing with your bags at your side, facing your friends whom you had to leave. The sun was setting, the drive would be a long one back, and as much as you were ready for sleep… you weren’t ready to  _ go _ .

“Hey, now, what’d I tell you about getting sentimental last time?” Kuroo gave you his best grin, but you couldn’t help yourself. You nearly tackled him in a hug, the captain letting out a soft  _ oof _ in response. “Jeez, would have loved this kind of attention when you first moved.”

“Oh, shut up!” You responded, mostly muffled by the fact that your face was shoved into his shirt. He patted your back a couple of times, and then wrapped both arms around you tightly.

“I’ll miss you.” Was all he said, keeping it simple. You pulled away, turning to Kenma.

“We… can hug if you want.” He kept his voice low, eyes not settling on any one place in particular.

“Would you be okay with that?” You double checked, rubbing at your eyes. He nodded, to which you gently put your arms around him, Kenma mimicking the action. It didn’t last nearly as long as the one with Kuroo, but it meant just about the same.

“Me next, me next!!!” Bokuto waved his arms frantically calling for your attention. You laughed, offering your open arms to him, just for the Fukurodani captain to nearly crush you in his death-hug.

“Bokuto, please don’t break them.” Akaashi was glaring as far as you could tell. You were released from the hug, being placed gently back on the ground. “If you wouldn’t mind?”

“Really?” You were surprised with Akaashi’s sudden interest in a hug, but he had asked all the same, so you weren’t about to say no. It was soft, much like the one with Kenma, but you could see the way Akaashi smiled as it happened. “Well I… I guess this is it.”

“For now!” Bokuto reminded you, waggling his finger.

“For now.” You repeated back, holding in the tears that wanted so desperately to come out. “I’ll keep in touch. And you guys do your part, get into nationals so I can see you again, okay?”

“Heh. You guys have to do that, too, ya know?” Kuroo smirked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Don’t worry. We will.”

You gave one last wave goodbye, picking up your bags to load them into the bus. Takeda took them from you and you joined Ennoshita as the two of you boarded the vehicle.  
You were grateful to have the window seat on the ride back, because at the very least, you could see them still sending you all off from the steps of the school, up until the very last moment when you drove away.


	18. Keep True to a Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FEEL LIKE A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING HAPPENS THIS CHAPTER at least for the first half, sorry about that -v-'''  
> We are!! Nearing the end though, just 2 more story chapters and 10 Endings
> 
> (Double sorry for the delay on this chapter. Hopefully next one doesn't take me too long.)

Certainly you were grateful for the chance to accompany Karasuno to the Tokyo Away Games, grateful for the chance to be one of them. The feelings that you held onto, sitting in your seat at school, fully knowing that they were out there fighting and giving it their all… they would be no more.  
You were Karasuno’s Manager-in-training.  
You would be there with them this time; The last time for some of the members. Sugawara, Daichi, Asahi… in whatever small way you could, you’d be there to help them.

Having made it to top 16, the first day of games were not necessary, and everyone utilized that time for honing the skills they already were quite good at. Just one day of preliminaries was all they had to make it through, just two matches, and then two months until the next fight.

“You almost look more nervous than any of us!” Tanaka had pointed out on the bus ride over. Until, of course, you gestured to Hinata’s twisted up face.

It was true, there was a strong sense of nervousness, knowing that this was so important to them.  
And to you, too.

Warming up and waiting for your turn, the team kept off to the side as you heard whispers all around. Kageyama, Nishinoya, and the team’s overall offensive capability were the topics of choice. They had nearly won against Aoba Johsai, so it was only natural to gossip about them. That kind of attention made you uneasy, though, so if there was one benefit to not playing anymore, it was that no one really spoke about you. Kiyoko, on the other hand, even as just a manager, was spoken about constantly. She was gorgeous, so that, too, seemed natural to you.

As the matches on the court wrapped up, it was Karasuno’s turn, and they stormed out full of confidence despite an earlier near-puking incident. Your eyes glided over the courts, Kiyoko by your side, until they landed on the opposite team. Oh boy. It was a bunch of punks.  
Your eyes returned to your own team just in time for Tanaka to try and make one of his infamous scary faces at them. Sugawara wasn’t having it.

“Ohgi Minami, right?” You asked the other manager, who simply nodded.

“They don’t have their third years anymore.” She noted.

Both teams were called to finish their warm ups and you, being a 2nd manager, were forced to escape to the seating up above. The space was relatively empty, of course, most people probably preferring to come back in October instead.

“Oi, so you decided to show up after all, Ukai!” A man called out beside you. With a subtle glance, you spotted an older gentleman to your right, followed closely behind by a couple of kids.  _ Ukai?  _ You thought.  _ You can’t be serious that’s THE Coach Ukai?! _

“Hey, you’re from Karasuno, too right?” One of the kids earned your attention as Ukai’s grandfather walked past you. “So why are you up here?”

“Oh. Um, only one manager can be on the bench during a match.” You explained, far too distracted by the intimidating presence the former Karasuno coach had.

The match had begun and at first, it appeared completely one-sided. While relieving to see your team succeeding so easily, you couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity towards the other team. Pity wasn’t what they’d want, though, and you knew that better than anyone.

“Hm… is that one of the old third years?” You pondered aloud shortly after a timeout was called. It seemed the opponents were all looking up and shouting back and forth with some guy. “Captain, maybe?” How sweet if it was.

That didn’t change the momentum, however. Karasuno was still incredibly untouchable, even as the other team kept their will to fight. The fact of the matter, though, was if you didn’t work hard enough for it, of course you wouldn’t win. All the effort they put in right there, right at the end, would only get them so far based on previous practices. So when Hinata went for another quick, you had shove down your feelings of pity, and be proud of your team for their first win.

 

* * *

“Did you see us out there?! Did ya see?!” Hinata was slightly bouncing on his knees as you handed him a banana, his stamina clearly not depleted.

“Yes, I saw.” You replied with a small chuckle.

“Oi, Hinata! Eat your snack and conserve your energy!” At the captain’s shout, Hinata slunk off, probably to bother Kageyama or Nishinoya. His enthusiasm and never-ending energy was just charming. Too bad you couldn’t keep up with him.

“So? How was it?” Ennoshita was now just a matter of feet away, smiling at you. You were staring a bit dumbfounded. “That was the first time you could watch an official match all the way through, I’m asking how it was.”

“Oh!” That was true, wasn’t it? Other than practice matches you hadn’t seen them play a full game, having only arrived for the last few minutes of the Dateko match last tournament. You leaned your head to the left, eyes falling in the same direction. “I didn’t notice it before, but… the atmosphere was definitely different.”

“Yeah?” Ennoshita always seemed so interested in what you had to say, genuinely watching with focused eyes. It was nice having someone care for your opinion and thoughts so much.

“You guys always give it your all, though, so it was hard to pick up on. But… there was definitely something new there.” You nodded a few times before letting out a small sigh. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Could say the same for you.” His voice was hardly audible, your ears only picking up on half of it.

“What was that?”

“Um!” He sputtered for a bit, fishing for a suitable excuse. When he spotted Nishinoya and Tanaka bothering Kiyoko, though, he managed to put the words together. “I said ‘could say the same for them.’!” He gestured to the guys, who you rolled your eyes at.

“Yeah, their persistence really exceeds expectations.”

 

* * *

The second match wasn’t quite like the first, seeing as they were up against a guy who was  _ two meters tall _ . He easily had to have been the tallest guy in the tournament, right? Was he there last time?  
You pondered his existence and the very fact that your team was going to have to come up with something good to get around his height.

“It’s a weapon.” You repeated words you knew Asahi had said earlier. “His height really is a weapon.”

“So, it’ll just be a matter of how they get around that weapon.” The sound of the former coach Ukai’s voice caused your head to swivel in his direction. Was he actually… responding to you? “I’m interested to see.”

At first, Kakugawa was the one with the upper hand, using that tall guy every chance they had for a spike or block. As the game stretched on, more and more people gathered around to watch, much to your amazement. You hadn’t figured there were that many people here for preliminaries. Of course, having them there made it all the better when Hinata and Kageyama managed to get a quick past the opponent’s defenses. The gasps of awe made a bit of pride spark up in you.

“He hasn’t been playing long, has he…?” You muttered to yourself, watching again as the spike went directly where his body was turned. There was also the fact that his team had almost been… protecting him? Whenever Karasuno was serving, they kept their defenses in such a way that the tall guy never had to receive.

“Heh. It’s obvious when you look at the facts.” The former coach spoke up again, the two children he had with him asking soon after about the different tempos in volleyball. It was nice that he was still teaching, even if it wasn’t for nationals or anything.

Karasuno was suddenly at match point; If they successfully got one more, they’d win the whole match and be allowed on to the qualifiers in October. While you had no doubt they would succeed, there was still a portion of time where you held your breath, watching as Hinata jumped, up against three blockers. Life slowed, his motions practiced and thought-out. His hand hit the ball at an angle you weren’t expecting and collided with the fingertips, the trajectory of it suddenly flying up--- and over.

“We won!!!” You cheered, having to hold back on any celebratory jumping that you might have felt like doing.

 

* * *

“I’m going to see if anything was left being, you go on ahead.” Kiyoko was, yet again, ignoring Tanaka and Nishinoya, instead speaking to you. With a small nod at her words, she left.

“You heard her, guys, let’s get going.” With a newfound smile, you patted the fellow second years on the shoulder and gently pushed them forwards. Although reluctant, they fell into step behind Kageyama and Hinata. The four of them started a bit of a joking dispute, one you were fine listening in on until Ennoshita grinned and leaned towards you.

“Watch this.” He whispered as Nishinoya and Tanaka made fun of Hinata’s ‘Ack!’ from earlier. “Ahem. By the way, you guys got your summer break homework done, didn’t you?”

“ACK!” They shouted in unison.

“You remember me saying I wouldn’t help you, right?” There was something a bit sinister behind his expression.

“Sometimes I feel like I don’t know you at all.” You teased him, earning a meek smile in response. Before he could vocally reply, however, Hinata was suddenly freaked out about leaving behind his bento box and dashed off in the opposite direction. “Well then…” You heard your name in front of you and turned to look at the speaker.

“Will  _ you _ help us with the homework?” Nishinoya was giving you puppy dog eyes, the kind that were hard to resist.

“I’m… not sure if I should. But---”

“Don’t give into them, they’ll attach like leeches.” Ennoshita gently pushed you forward, mimicking the action you had done not that long ago to Tanaka and Nishinoya. “Isn’t that right, Narita?”

“Um, yes?” He wasn’t looking so sure, but the way his friend was forcing you away from the others seemed to give him an idea of what was going on.

Outside, the team waited for what felt like forever. Even the two usually rambunctious second years were quietly sulking about how long Kiyoko was gone. You were admittedly worrying somewhat, too, but knew the manager was capable of handling herself.  
Not long after that thought, a group of boys came out, the atmosphere changing intensely. Another team? You wondered to yourself. They seemed like trouble, nonetheless, and you kept your distance, not even noticing the way Sugawara slowly made his way to stand next to you. Avoiding their eyes seemed like a weak move with the way everyone else was staring them down as they passed, so you half-heartedly joined in. Of course, had you just not done that in the first place, the guy with chin-length brown hair wouldn’t have winked at you and you wouldn’t have felt your skin crawling.

“Are you okay?” Suga whispered next to you, bringing your awareness of his distance from you to an all time high. While most of Karasuno usually kept a moderate to kind of far distance from you, Sugawara always liked being close-by, and you were always noticing.

“Yeah.” You finally responded once that weird team was out of sights. “Who the hell were they?”

“No idea. I just hope they weren’t bothering Shimizu.” As if by mention of her name, Kiyoko returned, Hinata just a step behind. Not bringing up the group of guys, you all boarded the bus and made the drive back to Karasuno. If they were another team, then maybe you’d see them in a couple months.

 

* * *

 

There were a lot of practices after that. Two months meant a hefty amount of time to polish the skills they had, and you found yourself often occupied with assisting them all one way or another. It filled your evenings with purpose, something you had been missing. The qualifiers were at the near-end of October, it was time to get busy. Or… so you would have liked, but it always seemed someone was getting into some kind of trouble.

“Um… Kageyama? Is that supposed to be a disguise?” You deadpanned as the Karasuno setter tried to slide on by in a hoodie, baseball cap, and shades. It was… not a good disguise.

“Wh! You knew it was me!?” He whipped off the disguise in frustration. “How am I supposed to get into Aoba Johsai now?!”

“You’re… honestly trying to sneak into my old school?” The look on his face from your words was priceless to say the least. What an idiot he was sometimes. “You’re not going to be able to do it like that, everyone would be suspicious in a second. Covering up only makes you stand out, you should wear some exercise clothes and walk in like you belong.”

“You’re helping me?” He asked with a blank expression.

“As much as I’d like my old team to  _ not _ be spied on, I know you’ll do it anyway. Might as well not get you caught, right?” You shrugged very passively.

“Th-Thank you! I’ll try what you said then!” Kageyama bowed in a blink of the eye, dashing off to try a new ‘disguise’. What a goof.

Of course, the news he came back with wasn’t so light hearted. It turned out Oikawa was able to bring out 100% of a team’s capabilities… even on a college team for the first time. He was always exceeding expectations, it was kind of overwhelming. That didn’t deter Hinata, however, and Kageyama too. They both were ranting and yelling about how they would win as a team and defeat the Aoba Johsai captain once and for all.

 

* * *

“A-Choo!” Oikawa sneezed, suddenly shivering all over the place. “Ahh, I just got a chill!” He complained vocally. Iwaizumi turned to look at his friend, eyes filled with concern, but you wouldn’t be immediately able to tell.

“If you catch a cold, I’m going to punch you.” He assured Oikawa, turning once more to leave.

“That’s going way too far!”

“Then don’t get sick.” With that, he returned to practice, hoping in all earnest that Oikawa didn’t catch anything. They needed him at his best at all times, needed him to direct and perfect their game.

Once practice had wrapped up, however, Iwaizumi feeling the exhaustion of the day wash over him, decided to do something a bit different to his usual schedule. He opened his phone and hovered over your contact info for at least a minute before working up his nerves and hitting ‘call’.  
The ringing sound went on for awhile until,

“Hello?” Your voice came through, a faint sound of wind in the background. You were still walking home, of course. “Shut up, I’m on the phone.” That part sounded more distant, like you were covering the mic as you spoke to someone else.

“Hey. It’s me.” Iwaizumi had to do a lot to not sound so nervous just… calling you like that. “Sorry, are you with someone?”

“Oh! Hey Iwaizumi! Um, yeah act--- Oh my gosh Tanaka I’m going to kick your ass later, shut up.” Your voice was always pleasant when you spoke to him. He had missed that a lot having not seen you since the last tournament. Of course, he could have waited a couple of months and seen you again, but… that was so long. “Augh. Sorry. Yeah, I’m walking home with the other second years.”

“You don’t have to apologize for other people being stupid. If I did that, I’d never stop saying sorry on Oikawa’s behalf.”

“Pfft.” You were snickering. That made Iwaizumi so proud, to know that he could make you laugh. “I feel like beating him up is your physical way of telling others sorry.”

“Nah. It’s more for his benefit, I promise.” It wasn’t a lie. Whenever Oikawa was getting distracted or losing his confidence, a swift punch to the face and some shouting always seemed to do the trick in getting him back on his feet.

“Fair. So, uh… why’d you call?”

_ I missed your voice. _ He wanted to say.

“Arms are tired from practice. This seemed a bit easier than texting.” A good enough lie, one that you wouldn’t bat an eyelash at. “But you’re still walking, so… I should probably just bother you later.”

“You’re never a bother, Iwaizumi.” You assured him. He could practically hear the smile on your voice. “But yeah, it might be easier to just talk later. I’ll let you know when I’m home, okay?”

“Yeah. Sounds good. Bye.”

“Byeeee--- Tanaka, I SWEAR---” Then you hung up, leaving him wondering what that shaved kid could have said. He decided to let it go, however, pocketing his phone and continuing his own walk home. It’d be quiet, not hearing your text tone every few minutes, but not unpleasant.

“Iwa-chan~!” Oh, fantastic. “Was that them?” Oikawa sped up his walking to catch up to his friend, smiling like he knew everything there was to know.

“What do you think?” Iwaizumi spat back, his eyes not leaving the road forward.

“Ahh, I can’t wait to see them again at the qualifiers. If nothing else, at least something good came from them becoming a manager for those crows. Do you think they’ll want to talk to me this time?” Oikawa was far too cheerful for Iwaizumi’s liking. In fact, he was downright infuriating to listen to. He only knew you were manager because Iwaizumi told him, so why did he have to act so… so…  _ so damn smug _ ! “Do you think Karasuno knows about the injury?”

“I dunno. They’ve never said. If they don’t, though, we shouldn’t bring it up.”

“You think I’d just tell them that?” The setter looked offended now, pouting. “I’m hurt, Iwa-chan. You should know me better than that!”

“And what does it say about  _ you _ that I don’t?” His eyes slid over, lightly glaring with genuine frustration.

“You’re so mean.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

 

* * *

“We’re going back to Tokyo?!” You loudly exclaimed at Takeda-sensei’s news. Everyone flinched, not used to your shouting. “S-Sorry.”

“You’re fine, we all know how excited you are to see that City Boy, Kuroo~!” Tanaka was already teasing you, elbowing your side. You gave him a glare, one that easily got him to back off.

The ride over itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but you were a bundle of nerves, glad and also kind of anxious to be seeing your friends again. It was only for another weekend, and then there’d be one more after that, but getting to see them at all was good enough for you.

Upon stepping into the court at Nekoma highschool, Bokuto shouted your name, absolutely taking you by surprise and lifting you up to spin you in circles.

“BOKUTO! What’d I tell you about being gentle with them?!” Kuroo stepped forward, scolding the Fukurodani captain, but you could hardly tell where he was from all the motion blur. At the yelling, Bokuto slowed to a stop.

“S-Sorry! I just got really excited…” He mumbled, gently setting you back on the ground. Your head was still spinning.

“It’s… uh… it’s fine.” You insisted, trying to keep yourself stable on the ground. Once he was certain he hadn’t hurt you (“No, seriously, you didn’t do anything!”) he was off to get Tsukishima to jump blocks for him some more. You were glad the usually distant-Tsukishima actually agreed and was taking control of his own practice time.

“Yeesh. Sorry, I told Bo he wasn’t supposed to tackle you or anything, guess I should’ve covered ‘lifting’ in that.” Kuroo frowned, shaking his head from side to side.

“So, he knows?”

“Hm? Oh. About your leg? Nah. S’not my place to tell the others. Although I guess I already hinted at it last time, huh?” He grinned sheepishly, but you just rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, you kind of did. Akaashi’s probably figured it out then.”

“True. Sorry about that.” It was your turn to shake your head.

“No! It’s totally fine. I think… I think I’m finally feeling okay about it. Thanks to you and Karasuno.”

“Hey, don’t lump me in with those crows.” He argued back, arms now crossed over his chest.

“Just take the ‘thanks’ and go practice. I can’t be distracting you the whole time!”

 

* * *

It was easier saying goodbye that time, knowing you’d return soon enough. Back in Miyagi, everyone continued to work hard, and you had even heard from Yamaguchi that Tsukishima was practicing with his brother’s team. You had nearly spat out your drink in response.  
Still, Kageyama and Hinata were only about 70% successful with their quick; It’d sometimes still go too far, or not even reach Hinata at all. They needed more practice and you weren’t going to complain staying later to keep track.

Time flew by until it was early October, the nights were cold again and you were grateful for the long socks you always had on.  
One last ride over to Tokyo before the qualifiers at the end of the month.

“You look anxious.” Asahi pointed out as you went to get on the bus.

“Oh. Sorry.” You muttered, avoiding his gaze.

“Huh? Why are you apologizing?” He hadn’t expected that reaction, worrying he only made it worse.

“I was just thinking… this might be the last time we get to go to Tokyo.” Your eyes found their way to your feet, shame attacking your face. “I was doubting you guys… even if it was only for a second.”

“Oh…” Was all he could say at first. “We’ll make it to nationals, though. I promise.” When you looked up at his face, you couldn’t find any reason to doubt his words.

“Yeah. Yeah, that seems more right.”

 

* * *

This time when you entered the gym, Bokuto simply ran at you and halted to an extremely dangerous stop, your other three friends not too far behind.

“Bokuto… you’ll scare them.” Kenma simply stated, giving you one of his usual waves in greeting. Since he wasn’t one for much individual practice, you found yourself not getting the chance to be around him a lot, especially when compared to the others.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again.” Akaashi bowed his head, hands held behind his back. “Please don’t let Bokuto repel you too much.”

“Wh! Guys!” Bokuto looked offended before whipping his head back to you, checking to see if you were actually upset with him.

“Whoa, whoa, it’s fine! I’m just… really glad he’s happy to see me.” You gave a shy shrug, which was apparently deemed acceptable as no one made a move to stop the powerful hug Bokuto gave you.

“I am!!!” He cheered, once again releasing you with the utmost care. Kuroo seemed to keep a close eye on that action, his usual smirk not anywhere to be found.

Of course, he was acting weird those whole two days. Well, not on court, obviously, but any time you spoke with him and hung out with the weird mini-group they had going on. It was like he was watching you far too intensely. You weren’t sure what had him so… out of character, but figured it was best not to stir up trouble if this was the last time you’d be seeing him for awhile.

“Hey. Loosen up, you’re looking all tense again.” Kuroo gently patted a hand down onto your shoulder when you weren’t looking. The action made you tense up more. “Oh, hell. Sorry. Just made that worse.” He laughed.

“No kidding. Don’t go sneaking up on me like that.” You pouted, turning your head and soon your whole body to look at him. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Oh?”

“I already decided not to doubt my new team, but… it’s still…” You moved your head from side to side, thinking of the right words. “It’s just one loss. That’s all it takes. We have four whole matches before nationals, and none of them will be easy. In fact, they’re going to be terribly difficult.”

“Stop worrying so much. If you get too caught up in the future, you lose sight of the match right in front of you. Take things one at a time, okay?” Kuroo gave you an actual, honest to goodness, genuine smile, attempting to comfort you.

“Thanks, Kuroo.” You muttered weakly, shoulders slumping from the release of pressure.

“Hmm… you still look pretty wound up.” Then, he had an idea, one that he had wanted to try for awhile but never had the set up he needed until then. “How about this… I’ll give you a good luck charm. You’ll just have to promise to keep it with you until you can proudly proclaim ‘we’re going to national!’, okay?”

“O...kay?” You looked off to the left, eyes avoiding his face as you spoke the next part. “I dunno if that’ll actually help, but… I certainly appreciate the gesture.” Kuroo’s hand was suddenly on your chin, pulling your head to face him once more, and then, his lips were on your forehead. Everything stilled around you and all you could focus on was the sensation of  _ Kuroo _ being that close and actually  _ kissing your forehead _ .

“There you go.” Was all he said as he pulled away, hand dropping from your face. “You hold onto that, alright? Now let’s hurry up and get you to your bus. Can’t have your team ditching you here, what’d they ever do without you?”

“U-U-Um! O… Okay.” His nonchalant attitude made it impossible to react. Despite your burning face, he still pushed you forward and off to join up with the rest of Karasuno.  
Needless to say, the ride back was in silence, Ennoshita eyeing you warily.

You didn’t have too much time to worry about what that had meant. The qualifiers were just around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> casually gives Kuroo and reader a #Moment cause this is the last time he's seen before the endings


	19. Drumroll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long one at about 6.7k words  
> This chapter has a lot of Emotional Junk so hopefully that came out all good
> 
> ALSO!!! Holy snap!!! 1000 hits!!! I'm really grateful to everyone who reads this, and a big shout out to my buds Danny and Belle who have cheered me on through this whole process and even started watching the show :' D  
> There's only one more Story Chapter after this, wrapping up season 2, and then we have 10 whole endings~!

Truth be told, you thought about that gentle forehead kiss for much longer than you’d have liked. While you had managed to dodge the many, _many_ questions getting on the bus that day, you couldn’t help how much it crossed your mind prior to the qualifiers. So when the day came that you and your team were back at the stadium, it felt like you had just been there the other day. And all at once, your nerves hit you like a truck.  
Just one loss. That’s all it would take to remove them from the court. Just one loss and the third years would be done…

“We’re here!” Hinata was suddenly shouting, breaking you out of your negative thought cycle. You were silently grateful, even if you hardly paid attention to his words. Yamaguchi seemed to let out the breath he was holding, probably trying to calm his nerves. It wasn’t even a few seconds after that Hinata went barrelling towards the gym, Kageyama yelling after him.

“Don’t you dare false start, you dumbass!”

“It’s like Hinata and Kageyama live on spinal reflex alone.” Yamaguchi proposed.

“They’re like insects.” Tsukishima’s add-on had Noya and Tanaka snickering up a storm, and you too, if you were being honest. But leaving those two to rush off always meant trouble, and this time it took the form of Hinata bumping directly into that weird team from two months ago. You instinctively stepped closer to Kiyoko, remembering her story of meeting them.

“Glasses girl! Be sure to tell me your number today!” It seemed the captain of that team had shoved Hinata to the side, calling out to Kiyoko in a way that made your blood boil. Honestly, if you felt you could, you would have fought the guy right there and then for making your friend so uncomfortable. “She’s so cute when she’s shy~!”

Well that one got Tanaka and Nishinoya to react, sprinting full speed to attack the guy. You averted your eyes not wanting to see what happened next, but it seemed their Manager had interrupted, issuing an apology for her… troublesome team. They went off inside the building, leaving Hinata and Kageyama to quietly talk amongst themselves, until another shout had you flinching.

“We’re gonna beat them all!” They cheered, rushing forward yet again. You and the rest of Karasuno lagged behind a bit, making your way to an out-of-the-way corner. The match wasn’t for a bit, still, so it made sense to just chill out and figure out what the day had in store for you all. That weird team-- Johzenji -- Was the first match of the day. They were apparently called a party school from what you gathered. How they made it into the final four was a question that burned at the back of your mind.

“U-Um, I’ll be right back.” Yamaguchi announced his departure, his blonde friend simply nodding before resting his eyes some more.

“We’ve got twenty five minutes til warm-up. Don’t take too long.” You told him with a soft smile, glancing at the schedule in your hands. He muttered some kind of affirmation and headed on his way.

 

* * *

 

“Yoo-hoo!” A voice called out, but Yamaguchi never assumed random people calling out were for him. He wasn’t someone who stood out or someone that people wanted to approach often. At least not outside of school (where girls would ask about Tsukki from time to time). So of course he kept walking. “Freckles!” That one made him stop.

“M-Me?” He asked, turning around only to be face-to-face with Aoba Johsai’s Captain: Toru Oikawa. Yamaguchi’s usually nervous demeanor turned into one of annoyance. “Oh.” Was all he said.

“First Shrimpy and now you! Seems I’m destined to run into you guys all day.” His smile was… smug. “Sooo~ where’s your manager?”

“Kiyoko? Busy.” Yamaguchi wasn’t having it, eyes narrowed more than he was used to.

“You know which one I’m asking about.” Oikawa shot back, voice pitch lowering. The way he could stay so in control in these moments made Yamaguchi falter for a split second.

“A-Also busy. How did you even know they’re our manager anyway?”

“Iwa-chan told me.” Oikawa’s response came immediately, expression softening to something more pleasant, but terribly insincere. “Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” Yamaguchi had to bite his tongue to keep from saying ‘yeah you are’.

“Why are you asking about them, anyway?” His voice was again faltering, gaze awkwardly shifted to the floor.

“Am I not allowed to miss them?” Those words felt oddly genuine and Yamaguchi had to struggle to keep his eyes away from the Setter’s expression. Trying to determine what was real and what wasn’t could very well lead to a headache. “Who knows, they could see me and run up to me for a hug.”

“They can’t run. You know that.” The words were muttered out before Yamaguchi could even think about it. He peered up to see Oikawa’s reaction, one of amusement.

“So you crows _do_ know!” His smirk set the Pinch Server on edge. “Makes this a whole lot easier, Freckles!”

“Wh-What?” Yamaguchi decided to ask against his better judgement.

“I have no bad intentions, just so we’re clear.” The smirk dropped, replaced with a gentle smile. “Quite the opposite, actually. So don’t get your shorts in a twist, alright?”

“Whatever.” There was a chance Yamaguchi might have stolen that attitude from Tsukki, but he hadn’t cared right then, too caught up in deflecting Oikawa where he could.

“I was at the match, ya know.” He started, face losing its amusement. He appeared… serious. “The one where they were hurt.”

 

_One last point. That was all they needed to win and they could go onto the qualifiers next month. Oikawa watched from the seats up above, his eyes kept on you. Maybe you weren’t an ace, and maybe not even the best player on your team by any means, but you had an aura that made you out perform those near you. There was no denying that you wanted to win._

He remained mostly neutral on the debate inside his head; Whether it was worth it for him to be there or not. His next opponents were playing right then, but it was so early on in the tournament, there were hardly any teams he was afraid of. Just easily forgotten schools that would lead Aoba Johsai closer to Nationals. These were the thoughts he toyed with, hardly paying attention to when you dove for the ball and landed harshly on the floor of the court.  
_Even without analyzing every detail, though, he could have never missed the scream you let out. It was powerful, emotional, and 100% uninhibited.  
_ You were in immense pain and there was blood.

_Oh god, there was blood._

_Oikawa shot up out of his seat, as if standing would give him a better view of what happened. People began to crowd around, obscuring the already limited sights he had and forcing him to push forward in the hopes that he could be closer, somehow.  
_ _You were removed from the court via stretcher and the game was brought to a temporary halt. Even once it resumed, Aoba Johsai lost._

 

* * *

 

_“Where are you going, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked his friend, who already was packing up for the night. That was unusual. He almost always stayed around until he had to force Oikawa to quit._

_“They can have visitors now.” Was all he said, the context forgone, but implied nonetheless. You were still in the hospital after surgery was done on your leg, resting up while the doctors figured out how to get you walking. “I want to get there before time’s up.”_

_“Can I come with you?” The question actually shocked both boys. Oikawa hadn’t expected himself to say anything on the matter, much like Iwaizumi who hadn’t realized he cared at all._

_“Sure.”_

_The two walked in silence as they were directed to your room. Iwaizumi looked more anxious than usual, his head bowed and shoulders tensed. Of course, Oikawa knew of his crush on you. It was obvious even without any plain statements, but it was clearly affecting him a lot in the moment, knowing he’d have to see you in your most vulnerable moment. That thought made Oikawa’s stomach twist up, his own body tensing in a way he didn’t fully understand.  
_ _As they approached the door to your room, Iwaizumi hesitated._

_“Go on.” Oikawa gently nudged him forward. “I’ll be outside.”_

_“Outside? The hell are you doing?” Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes, widening his stance as to not be pushed again. “You asked to come along, you need to at least see them you asshole!”_

_“Iwa-chan.” His voice was even. “I can’t.” There was a long moment of silence, until Iwaizumi gave up and entered your room, leaving his friend to stand outside, only able to listen in through the door._

What he heard killed him.  
_You told Iwaizumi how you couldn’t play anymore. You cried. You asked him to leave.  
_ And so they did.

 

* * *

 

_“They’re back, you know.” Iwaizumi muttered to his friend, drinking from his water bottle just a moment after. It was break during their after school practice. “I saw them. They’ve got a cast and everything.”_

_“Are you going to talk to them?” Oikawa asked, genuinely wondering for a moment._

_“I wish I could.” Was his response. There were a lot of things stopping him. The way you seemed to look at everyone who tried to help, the fact that you were in different years, and that you no longer had club. The options were limited, so to speak._

_As night turned to late, Oikawa finally wrapped up, Iwaizumi having left earlier yet again. He wasn’t taking this so well, exhausted from the stress of being unable to help you. Oikawa wanted to help, too. Both of you. But instead, he focused on the game; Focused on his serves and his dream for Nationals.  
_ _With a rare, but genuine sigh, he left the gymnasium and began to head for the school’s gate until---_

_“DAMN IT!” That was your voice. Oikawa froze in place much like a deer in headlights, eyes following the sound to the other gymnasium, the one where the girl’s team always practiced. What the hell were you doing there? That late at night?  
_ _He approached quietly, not wanting to alert you of his presence. Peeking inside, he saw volleyballs scattered across the floor and you, hitting a serve over the net, one leg in a cast. You looked furious, face scrunched up in intensity. Even from that distance, he could tell you had been crying._

_Oikawa watched for a long while, fighting the urge to call out to you and just hold you in his arms. He knew you didn’t want that, didn’t want people seeing you like that. You hit another serve, panting heavily as the ball collided with the side of the net. You cursed under your breath, going to hit another, but ultimately falling to the ground, knees pointed together and legs behind you._

_“Damn it… damn it, why me!” You cried out, tears flooding your vision once more. “Why me!” Your fist made contact with the court’s floorboards. At first it was just once, gentle but emotional. And then it was many times, forceful and angry. The side of your hand grew red._

 

* * *

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Yamaguchi’s brows were furrowed, eyes full of concern, even for a version of you he hadn’t known yet.

“I care about them.” Was all he replied, a soft smiling forming yet again. “I have regrets, sure. Which is exactly why… “ He paused, shaking his head as if he decided better of it. “Nevermind, Freckles. We’ll be seeing you, I hope~!” With a twiddle of his fingers, Oikawa left. Warm-ups would be soon, after all.

 

* * *

 

A party school seemed a fitting title once you were able to witness Johzenji’s play style. Reckless, Wild, Unpredictable; They were impossible to fully understand just from a one-time match. That didn’t seem to deter Karasuno from keeping ahead of the game, however, matching points and eventually passing their opponents.

There was a… small incident with Kageyama getting a nosebleed after taking a volleyball straight to the face, but you helped him to the infirmary just fine and even got back in time to see they had swapped Hinata out for Narita.

“Go Suga and Narita!!!” You cheered, heading back up to your usual viewing spot. It was always a nice change of pace when the other members were able to play, especially someone as quiet as Narita. Well… quiet wasn’t exactly the right word. Still, he hardly spoke up unless he felt it was necessary.  
Everyone dashed forward, an all-out sync attack, one that Johzenji just couldn’t block. Karasuno was then at match point.  
Having thought the attack was so cool, Johzenji tried the same sync attack, only to completely miss and earn the win for Karasuno.

“I’m not sure if I can be happy when they messed up that bad.” You muttered with an eyebrow quirked.

The second set went rather quickly, too. It seemed the other team was panicking, still unable to stop Hinata and Kageyama’s insane quick. That was, until Johzenji called for a time out halfway to match point. You watched carefully, noticing their cute manager giving some kind of speech. It seemed she was one of the last third years left and it fell on her to talk some sense into them. You admired that, without a doubt.

While it seemed the time-out did them some good, there was little they could do against Karasuno in the end. Once again, during match-point, Johzenji tried for the sync attack, actually hitting the ball, but spiking it out of bounds.

“We did it!” You cheered, making your way down from the seats. The walk down took you awhile, but as you reached the end, turning towards the hallway, Tanaka and Nishinoya were already there to greet you.

“WOO!” They both cheered, taking a running jump towards you, both hands raised for a high-five. Before you could even react, seeing as you were stunned into a statue like state, Ennoshita had grabbed them by the collars, eyes more tired than usual.

“You both doing a jumping high-five at them is a bit much.” He dryly stated, eyebrows furrowing.

“R-Right.” Another response in unison. Satisfied, he let them go, and all three of them high-fived you one at a time, celebrating their first win in the qualifiers.

“You guys were great out there!” You decided to praise them, ignoring your previous fearing for your life.

“We’re gonna be great tomorrow, too!” Tanaka shouted, hands on his hips. You smirked at him.

“Yeahhh we’ll see.”

“H-Hey! I’ll show you! I’ll hit the first spike in your honor!” He grinned, jerking a thumb towards himself. You couldn’t help but falter at that, ears turning a bit pink.

“I-I was just trying to get you to do your best tomorrow, you didn’t have to go that far!” You shot back, pouting slightly.

“GWAHAHA! I would have done it anyway!”

 

* * *

 

The next day was much the same, arriving for two more matches that time. The match against Wakunan was just about to begin and you were already up in the seats, noticing Shimada (Yamaguchi’s private serving teacher) approaching from your right.

“Heya, Shimada!” You greeted, smiling gently. “Just you today?”

“Hey! And yeah, Takinoue has work today.”

“A shame.” You shrugged, turning your attention back to the courts. Just as you had, though, another voice pulled you away, one that you certainly recognized.

“Man, I’m getting hyped!” Her voice was loud and cheerful, like some others that you knew. “This really gets you fired up, huh?” Saeko, Tanaka’s older sister, soon came into view, one hand raised and held stiffly above her eyes as she scanned the area.

“Hello, Saeko!” You greeted with a wave. When she made eye contact with you, she cheered your name and grinned widely. “Here to cheer on your brother?”

“You betcha’! Oh! RYU!” She caught sight of her sibling, shouting his name to gain his attention. Noya noticed immediately, which began a bit of a train reaction until nearly all of Karasuno was looking up at the rafters.  
Thankfully, the match began shortly after.

Wakunan was no pushover. Calm, collected, and stable were the words that came to your mind. While they weren’t collectively all that tall, their receives and movements were scary good. This was going to be a fight all the way through. On top of that, it was clear there was some sort of battle between the Wakunan captain and Hinata, though you couldn’t say for sure why.  
Your team was proceeding calmly, however, Kageyama throwing more tosses for Asahi now.

“AZUMANE! Nice kill!!!” You received a shy wave of acknowledgement from him, causing you to grin all silly like.

Point after point, the match went on, until a particularly long rally, one that felt like it would never end. The other team’s captain was against three blockers, performing his second wipe of the game. You saw Daichi dive to the side, hitting the ball back for Noya to connect further. One more hit had to be dealt still.  
Your eyes widened, far too attuned to what was about to happen. There was a tightness in your chest as Daichi ran forward, heading towards the ball without much thought to Tanaka on the left.

They collided.

A hand found its way to your mouth, covered in horror.

“Yes! Er… huh?” Shimada’s voice to your right felt distant and unreal. All eyes were on the court, on Daichi’s unmoving body. You felt sick to your stomach.

“Sawamura…” You breathed out, tears brimming at your eyes. Tanaka seemed alright for the most part, only his arm having been in the collision, but that was definitely Daichi’s head. After another few moments (that felt like eternity and a half) he began to move, shaky arms lifting him from the wood flooring. Ukai and Takeda rushed forward, seemingly asking him a lot of questions. Standard procedure to be sure of a concussion.

You watched, unblinking, as everyone spoke and huddled around the captain. You were worried about him, but even more, you worried for Tanaka.  
While he was usually tough, never giving into doubt and weakness, this was… a whole different area. Damn it… if only you could be down there and do something for them, _anything_ at all!

Daichi was walking on his own at least, as Ukai led him to the infirmary.

Your eyes found their way back to the court just in time for your heart to nearly skip a beat. Ennoshita was being put in. Honest to goodness, he was _actually_ being put into a match.  
Your concern for Daichi was nearly overtaken with just the pure joy of Ennoshita being the one chosen to fill the spot.  
His face was tense however, as he jogged onto the court. _Thinking too much_. Luckily, something Tanaka had said seemed to snap him out of his self-doubt and into that much preferred Captain-like state he had.

“BRING IT!!!” Ennoshita shouted powerfully after some rough starting. Your grip tightened on the wall, eyes more focused than ever. _You can do this,_ you though to yourself. _You can do anything if you just try to believe_.

 

* * *

 

_It was after practice, some time before the Spring tournament, when you were walking home with the fellow second-years. Coach Ukai had brought up the topic of a new captain for next year, one that would obviously have to be decided amongst yourselves. Well, not including you per se, but they all made it clear that they valued your opinion on the matter._

  _"I think Chikara should do it!” Nishinoya was proudly proclaiming, a popsicle in hand. He proceeded to chomp it down in two bites as Ennoshita shouted back.  
_ _“Wh-Why?!”_

_“Just cause.” A master of words, that Nishinoya._

_“According to the rules, Liberos can’t be captains, right?” Tanaka suddenly spoke up. You and Nishinoya said your affirmations in response._

_“I think Tanaka’s qualified, too, but looking at the first-year lineup…” Kinoshita was grinning as he began to share his own opinion. “The simpleton idiots. The smartass.”_

_“Yeah… you can’t help but think that we need someone with a sound mind in charge.” Narita finished the thought with a small chuckle._

_“I agree with having Ennoshita as captain,” Tanaka’s voice was lowered, eyes narrowed, too. “But I’m not fully satisfied.” His volume increased after that as well. “You two need to put yourselves in, too!”_

_“Nope, nope, nope, nope.” Kinoshita waved his hand back and forth as if to dismiss the very concept._

_“Yeah, not happening.” Narita mimicked the motions, dismissing his own case as well._

_You sighed, looking away from them and instead settling your attention on Ennoshita. He was staring at the ground, brows furrowed in the same way he always did before saying something that put himself down._

_“But, I ran away…” He finally stated. “There’s no way I could lead the team.” He was actually serious. God damn it, he was honestly serious about that! You looked away, holding your tongue._

_“That might be why.” Tanaka calmly responded, something you couldn’t have managed right then._

_“You’re back right now and that’s all that matters!” Before Ennoshita could reply to Nishinoya’s add-on, he was cheering about winning another free popsicle and dashed off to redeem it. Regardless, Tanaka picked up where he left off._

_“Not everybody who joins a sports club is going to be the reckless type. I don’t know much about those who are a different type than me, but I think you do.” There was a powerfully genuine smile across his face, one that seemed to reach his eyes. You admired Tanaka’s people skills, even if he was attempting to downplay them right then.  
_ _Ennoshita sighed, trying to drop the topic as a whole._

_At the end of the walk home, it was just you and Ennoshita, your turn coming up. It was all in silence up until that point, where your friend decided to bring up the thought that burned in his mind._

_“You’ve been awfully quiet. We had said we wanted your opinion, too.”_

_“I know.” Was your brief and possibly aggressive reply._

_“You’re upset with me.”_

_“I am.”_

_Ennoshita sighed, stopping as the two of you approached the alleyway. There was no way he would let you leave it at that, though._

_“I don’t know_ why _you care so much. I appreciate it, really, I do. You’ve always been the first to tell me to stop being like that…” His eyes avoided you, knowing all too well the expression you were giving him. “But I wasn’t saying anything wrong.”_

_“You were saying everything wrong!” You shot back. Sudden anger and frustration was now boiling somewhere under your skin. “I don’t care if the facts say you’re not good enough, or even if for some_ **_stupid_ ** _reason everyone else said you weren’t! If you love what you do and you’re willing to put some frickin’ faith in yourself then you can make it happen!” It wasn’t your intention to stand there, just yelling at him. Honestly, given the choice, you were going to let him drop it and try another time, some time later when you weren’t so unreasonably angry with him._

_“But--”_

_“I’m going to ask you something!” He flinched as you interrupted him. “This question will be the most important thing I may ever ask you, and you_ **_cannot_ ** _spend time thinking about it, it’s something you already know the answer to, somewhere! So when I ask, you just shout out the first answer that comes from your heart! No delay at all, okay?!”_

_“O… Okay.” Ennoshita’s face was warming up, both from the fact that this was a tense situation, and that you were slowly stepping closer to him with each shouted phrase._

_“No hesitation at all! Do you want to be on the court?!” You were a matter of inches away from him, pointing metaphorically to some concept of a gym._

_“Yes!” Before he could even think about what you had asked, he was yelling back his answer; One straight from his heart._

_“Good!” You gripped his shoulders with your hands, forcing him to look directly at you. “Then do it! Maybe it means working harder than anyone else! Maybe it means putting in the hours and the effort and putting yourself out there without anyone telling you to! But one day you’ll be out there and you will prove yourself! Because that’s what you want! Because that’s what you want to do and now you know it for certain!”_

_“I…” He couldn’t form words, a stray tear falling from his face._

_“That answer was the true one. Never let go of it! If you believe in yourself, even just a little bit…” Your right hand removed itself from him, falling to gently settle over your heart. “Then I will always believe in you!”_

_Ennoshita had never had anyone who had that much unwavering confidence in him. He had family and friends who supported him, sure, but this was something completely new and foreign. There you were, so close, and putting your everything into making sure he felt he could accomplish anything he put his mind to.  
_ _How was he so lucky? How was he ever doubting that he was in love with you?_

_“I never thought I’d see the day you’d be full-blown yelling at me.” After what felt like forever, Ennoshita smiled, gently removing your hand from his other shoulder. “Thank you for that. Really.”_

_“U-Um! I’m sorry, I got… really carried away there.” You supplied a nervous laugh. “But! Um! I meant it. All of it.”_

_“I know you do.”_

 

* * *

 

His shout echoed, one of unwavering confidence. It held the same kind of belief that you had for him. Sure enough, next serve, he perfectly received. Kageyama tossed to Asahi and Karasuno got the point.  
As Tsukishima went up to serve a couple rotations later, the whistle was blown, signifying a switch in players. Yamaguchi was once again being brought in as a Pinch Server. You could see Shimada tensing up next to you.

“He looks anxious…” You muttered, grip tightening once more on the wall. Your worries seemed to dissipate though as Ennoshita once again proved his worthiness as a Captain by acting more freaked out than the first year. _Is it actually acting, though?_ You wondered.

His toss was low, but Yamaguchi’s serve went over the net and scored a point nonetheless. The second serve, however, he was cowering and completely forwent the jump floater serve altogether. Tanaka’s sister asked some question about it, but you were too focused on Yamaguchi, who looked like the world was about to end around him. As the other team went to spike, he wasn’t moving an inch.  
Thankfully, Ennoshita dove for the cover, saving them. The first set was won.

Coach Ukai was not happy, though. As he returned, it was easy to see how pissed off he was at Yamaguchi’s last serve. Luckily Ennoshita stopped him and seemed to say something that helped ease the situation.  
But you knew Yamaguchi wouldn’t be doing well… not after everything he said to Tsukishima. Not after everything he said with you.

 

_“I haven’t done anything yet. I’m not like everyone else.”_

 

It was true that he was still working on his own unique set of skills so that he could be on that court, fighting just the same as everyone else, but…  
You could really understand why Ukai was so frustrated. Hell, you _were_ , too, right then watching as Yamaguchi cowered from the fight. The safe option in this case was also a weak one, one where if he didn’t learn, he wouldn’t be able to continue.  
You wanted to help him, but something told you there was nothing more to be done at that point. He would have to fly on his own from now on.

The second set was rough… For every point your team got it seemed the other gained two. If something didn’t change, Wakunan would get this one, and as a third set would go on, everyone’s will and stamina would deplete.  
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Wakunan was at set point after another miss from Ennoshita. Yet another point scored and it was time for a third set to determine the overall winner. You hated to admit it, but you were strongly wondering how your team could hold up.

Wakunan’s captain hit another spike, only barely being one-touched by Hinata and Tanaka’s block, but the trajectory of the ball was still looking like a point for the opponent. What you hadn’t anticipated was the determined rush Hinata gave straight for a cover (and for the bench Ukai and Takeda were on, forcing the coach to move it out of the way in an impressive show of reflexes and strength.) his fist making contact. He never ceased to amaze you.  
Well, you _were_ impressed, until Hinata collided with Kageyama after a successful counter.

Karasuno wasn’t falling as far behind this time, only a point at any given moment, but you still felt that weight of concern for Ennoshita. Which is why you were acutely aware that he was planning something when he called the other team members over. Whatever it was, you hoped with all your heart he could make it work.  
The ball was served, Nishinoya receiving it. Then it was set to Tanaka, who couldn’t quite get past that pineapple-headed guy’s receive, which meant an imminent counterattack from Wakunan. Their captain jumped for the spike and seeing as he was up against three blockers, once more performed a wipe. Jeez, how were they supposed to deal with that?

To your surprise, your eyes fell to Ennoshita on impulse, watching for every second as he dove and actually connected, launching the ball back. Noya picked it up after that and Hinata went for the last, surprising you yet again as he thought about and managed a rebound. As Tanaka was given the second shot and succeeded in earning the point, you couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“CH-CHIKARA! NICE RECEIVE!” You hadn’t even thought about it, you just blurted out his given name like it was no big deal. Except it kind of was and now you were hiding behind the wall, blushing furiously. “Oh my gosh I cannot believe I just did that.”

“What, are you and Ennoshita dating or something?” Saeko asked, looking down at your cowering form.

“N-NO!” You couldn’t seem to control the volume of your voice anymore.

“Ehhh? Well, he heard you, so come face him like a man!” Suddenly she was lifting you up by the back of your shirt, forcing you to look out to the court where an equally red-faced Ennoshita was waving up at you. Where you would have expected Tanaka to be laughing up a storm, it actually looked like he was… distraught or something?

To your relief, the moment passed and the embarrassment washed away from your face.  
After another block from Tsukishima, you were caught up. And in yet another blink of the eye, it was match point. Your heart was caught in your throat, the tension was killing you.  
One more point was all you needed, and as a rally continued on, you thought you would grow dizzy from the breath you kept holding. Wakunan’s captain jumped for a spike, Kageyama and Hinata blocking, but for what felt like the millionth time that day, there was another wipe. It appeared to be another point, one that would throw them into deuce, and then---  
Ennoshita jumped up from the back, hitting the ball. There was nothing stopping them anymore, nothing to save Wakunan as Hinata dashed forward and scored the winning point.

“ALL RIGHT!” You cheered at the top of your lungs.

 

* * *

 

Down below, everything wrapped up, and as Karasuno went to clear out of the gym, there stood Daichi, a faint marking left on his cheek from the earlier collision. He stuttered at first, not sure what to say after everything that happened.

“I’m sorry.” Was what he finally settled on, only moments after being practically assaulted by Sugawara and Nishinoya. Tanaka attempted to apologize for the incident, but the captain soon shut him down, insisting he was doing even better than before the match. As he moved to lead the others forward, you arrived.

“Ennoshita!!!” You called out, speed walking perhaps a bit too fast.

“Y-Your leg!” Yamaguchi shouted out in concern, but you didn’t slow down, suddenly pulling the captain-to-be into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you!!!” You had your eyes closed, fingers gripping at the fabric of his sports uniform. It was a moment before his own arms found their way around you, much gentler than you had expected.

“Th… Thank you.” It came out a whisper at best, his face turning pink at the sudden affection you were showing him. “But, uh, please don’t be so reckless about your injury.”

“Ah!” You let go, looking down at your right foot. “I think it’s fine… it might be sore later, though.”

“Do you need me to carry you?!” Nishinoya was suddenly just a foot away, arms held out towards you.

“You’re too small to try and carry them, Nishinoya.” Tsukishima walked past, but not without saying his snide remark first. “You’d just fall and make things worse.”

“Oh! Sawamura!” You approached the captain now, ignoring the current altercation between those two. “Thank goodness you’re okay! You had me worried sick!”

You chatted politely for a while, nodding along to certain things here and there, until the group began to walk again. At the last moment, just a few of you hanging back still, Daichi explained how long he had been there and complimented Ennoshita one last time before walking away, leaving yourself with Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita.

“Sorry, could you go on ahead?” Ennoshita finally spoke up, his voice seeming far away. You felt uneasy about it, but… it wasn’t your place to call it out. As he, too, walked away, Narita asked a question you had an answer for, but no way to vocalize it.

“Doesn’t Ennoshita seem a bit down? We won.”

“We should get going.” You muttered, leading the other two second years towards the rest of the group.

 

* * *

 

“Oi, so what’s with callin’ Ennoshita by his given name, huh?” Tanaka suddenly asked after you had caught up with the rest of the club. You rolled your eyes, but the blush you wore was evident.

“I dunno what the big deal is, it just slipped out, okay?”

“Gwahaha! I’m not trying to embarrass you! Just, maybe, kind of wish you coulda done the same for me.” Tanaka was grinning shyly now, avoiding your gaze.

“What? So you… want me to call you Ryu?”

“N-Nevermind! Too soon!” His face was red in an instance, causing you to laugh. The climb back up the stairs was starting to get to you, but soon enough you’d have time to rest.

You settled into your seat with a grateful sigh, easing up the pressure of your right leg. Down below was Aoba Johsai against Dateko, your old team versus the Iron Wall. Except, this time, Dateko was down to its first and second years and there seemed to be a new guy for their setter.  
Whoever won the match, that was the next opponent.

It was the start of the second set when a trio of the third years who retired showed up. You sort of recognized them from the few minutes of the Karasuno vs Dateko match you saw all those months ago.  
The match itself was interesting, if only because the new setter for Dateko was absolutely huge, and although laughably bad at his job, he would sometimes pull out amazing combos and blocks.

“They’ve all improved their serves…” Daichi noted in reference to Aoba Johsai, just after a serve from Hanamaki. It was true, and you had heard about it from Iwaizumi many times. Although you had to keep your mouth shut about it out of fairness.  
Things continued on much the same, but the point gap was diminishing before your eyes. Aoba Johsai still held the lead, but for a passing moment you wondered if the match would be pushed to a third set.  
That was, of course, until a final toss to Iwaizumi made it through the iron wall (right through the middle of the new setter’s arms no less) and scored the win for your old school. You admittedly had to contain your excitement, realizing what it meant.

Another match between Karasuno and Aoba Johsai. The last match.

 

* * *

 

“You know where we’ll be, right?” Sugawara asked just before you split off from the team.

“Yep! Be there in just a bit!” You waved them off, turning down the hall towards the infirmary. They’d have to have pain killers there, though of course it would have just been better to have remember your own. Ah well, what could be done about that?  
You were almost there when a familiar voice called out to you.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi stood just a bit behind you, his smile hardly noticeable.

“Iwaizumi!” You greeted happily back. That made his smile break out to a full grin. “I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you until after… well…” You trailed off, not wanting to bring up the elephant in the room. For just a minute, you wanted to shove down the feelings of anxiety involving the impending match.

“Same here. It’s why I went looking for you.” He approached, hands in his club jacket pockets. He still seemed tired from the last match, which made sense giving it was only about twenty minutes ago. He must have broken away from his team the second the meeting wrapped up.

“It feels like forever since we last saw each other. I remember I had to use the bathroom real bad and Oikawa wouldn’t shut up.” You chuckled at the memory. Things felt so different since then.

“If he had known that, he would have probably left you alone quicker.”

“It’s not exactly easy to just blurt out ‘I need to pee’ to someone you hardly know.” You defended with a pout.

“I guess not.” Iwaizumi admitted with a chuckle. “He’d, uh… damn it, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…” His face twisted up in some sort of intense concentration. You simply had to wait while he debated his own words internally. “Oikawa… would actually like the chance to get to know you better. If that sounds like a pain in the ass, though, you don’t have to say yes.”

“What… what exactly would I be saying yes to?”

“Coming to one of our weekend practices. Maybe even just… meeting up with us after school on a Monday. Something like that. Really though, if it’s too weird or he’s---”

“I’d love that.” You interrupted his rambling, smiling brightly. That seemed to remove the tension from Iwaizumi’s face, his posture relaxing along with it. “You have a match to prepare for. Why don’t you get out of here?” You teased, gently punching his arm. He sputtered some nonsense for a moment before collecting his thoughts.

“Right. I’ll see you… after.” The weight that word carried was immense, but neither of you wanted to admit it. Being on opposite sides… it wasn’t easy. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too!”

 

* * *

 

“Is everyone here?” Daichi asked, his voice booming in the enclosed space of the practice court. “All right. It’s almost time. Let’s go!” Everyone called back in response, following suit.

The walk to the gym felt like the most nerve wracking experience of your life for some reason. The double doors opened at the end seemed to emit a light of their own, a symbolic visual of some bright future you wished for your team. It was never that easy, though. Why couldn’t it be that easy?  
The way your heart beat in your chest, there was only one way to describe it. The way it thrummed and pounded, blocking out the murmurs of crowds gathered out in the halls. The way it felt like it was about to burst at the seams…

It was like the drumroll, just before the curtain lifted on the final act.


	20. Take Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy final story chapter because I'm not going to even attempt to write something for season 3 :'D  
> (Writing about matches is a pain and people have already seen them so like... it's just difficult for all parties involved let's be real)

You weren’t there all those months ago to see the defeat first hand. Hell, you probably weren’t even there  _ emotionally _ , still so caught up in your own head and worries. It hadn’t been a time where you had considered yourself part of the team; That didn’t happen until just after.  
So why were you caring so damn much?

It didn’t help that during warm-ups you were allowed and even (arguably) needed on the court. Stepping into the gym and feeling all of Aoba Johsai’s eyes on you was not how you wanted to start things off. It took all you had to focus on helping out your team, collecting stray balls and tossing if needed, instead of looking over at your old school.  
Iwaizumi and yourself had already silently agreed to not talk until it was all over, but it wasn’t like everyone else had gotten that memo. Daring a glance to the opposing side, you made eye contact with Matsukawa, who shyly looked away, as if you had just caught him staring.

“Leave them alone, Mattsun.” Iwaizumi gently reminded his teammate, out of range of your hearing. “We need to focus right now.”

“I know.” He stated, only sneaking one more look in your direction. “It’s just kind of weird.”

Off to the side you could see Oikawa and Kageyama getting into a mini scuffle over a ball, much to your disappointment. He really didn’t need that kind of friction before the match even began.  
The momentary distraction nearly got you hit with a ball, but you turned just in time to catch it, an inch or so from your face.

“Are you alright?” Kiyoko shouted at you, to which you simply gave her a thumbs up.

“Damn it. I can’t believe Karasuno got them to be their manager.” Yahaba grumbled off in the distance, Kindaichi standing just beside him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… but what’s the big deal about the second manager? I mean, other than the fact that it means Karasuno has  _ two _ cute managers now.” Kindaichi glared after the second half of his sentence.

“Ah. Right. You’re a first year, so you didn’t know them. That new manager of theirs used to go to Aoba Johsai and played on the girl’s volleyball team.”

“What? No way.” Kindaichi looked at you yet again. “Why are they a manager then?”

“There was an accident. Something apparently happened during one of their matches. Shame, too. They were good, not to mention really cute.” Yahaba released a long and drawn out sigh. “Come on. Let’s get back to it.”

 

* * *

“You’ll do great!” You told all the boys, getting ready to head up to the seating area. The whistle for line-up wouldn’t be blown for a little bit, still, but you needed the head start to not miss anything.

“With you cheering us on this time, there’s no doubt!” Sugawara gave you a large grin, eyes shut.

“Just as long as we don’t catch you cheering for the other team.” Tanaka teased with a smirk and a raise of his brow. You rolled your eyes playfully.

“The more you joke about it, the more tempting it is.”

“You’d cheer for them just for that?” Tsukishima asked, nearly under his breath.

“Spite’s a strong motivator.” You insisted, giving one last wave before turning towards the exit. “But I think I love you guys a little too much for that. Do me proud!”

“You got it!!!” Hinata and Nishinoya shouted after you in unison, everyone else giving a simple ‘right’.

Once you had arrived at the seating area, it was time for the Captains to shake hands. After deciding Karasuno would receive first, the teams lined up, and you could see clearly everyone on either side. Which, of course, led to you noticing a returning recruit for Aoba Johsai.

“Oh, crap…” You muttered, knowing exactly who that punk with the scary eyes was. He was trouble, was the simple answer. Shimada, who was standing next to you, didn’t bother to ask, but you could feel his eyes fall on you after your vocal disbelief. Takinoue arrived not long after, apparently free of work for the afternoon.

“Man, Oikawa’s serving first?!” Takinoue crossed his arms over his chest.

“Is he that good?” To the other side of you, Tanaka’s sister Saeko stood, asking her question.

“He’s powerful and precise. This could be… really bad.” Your heart was already beating way too fast earlier, but every second this went on, you were only going to get worse. “If Oikawa gets any points like that, then the momentum goes to Aoba Johsai, and Karasuno’s going to take a massive hit to their morale.” You wouldn’t admit it, but you were trying your best to distance yourself from both teams.

Oikawa’s serve toss went up perfectly, and as per usual, his form in hitting it was phenomenal. To your relief, however, Daichi moved elegantly, too, and received the serve without too much trouble. At the end of the day, you just couldn’t beat a reliable captain like that. The trajectory of the ball carried it very nearly to the other side, but a solid cover from Kageyama saved them and allowed for Nishinoya and Asahi to show off their Libero-Setter combo, earning Karasuno the first point.  
Your heart swelled with pride.

Everyone seemed top of their game (Even Kageyama who barely got an out on one of his hits) and the atmosphere around you seemed to lighten. Both sides were there to win, both sides were ready to give it their all, and you figured maybe… either side winning wouldn’t be so bad in the end.

At another point, Tsukishima was up for serve, sending the ball over to Aoba Johsai. As Oikawa called for Iwaizumi to spike, though, Daichi was right there to fill in the gaps of the block Aoba’s Ace so easily got past. With the ball still in play, Hinata finally had his moment to spike, too, but Kindaichi sent it back, nearly to hit the court, until---

“Ts-Tsukishima…!” You couldn’t help the gasp that left you as the other middle blocker saved them from a lost point. However, the ball was flying over to the other side. Risking a glance from the action to check on how Hinata seemed, you looked just in time for Kageyama to give him a swift kick to the behind. What an… unorthodox method for calming someone down. It worked, though, despite all odds, and when given his second chance, Hinata made it past the block and scored yet another point for Karasuno.

The match was steadily going on, Karasuno barely ahead when it had been a full rotation and Oikawa was up to serve again. Daichi wasn’t having any issues with his serves thus far, but something about the way Oikawa was focusing had you on edge.  
Sure enough, your anxiety was validated when Oikawa somehow managed to apply even _more_ force to it, flying past Nishinoya and Daichi, a miracle that it was out of bounds.

“You’re  _ kidding _ me!” You exclaimed, both hands slapping down on the raised wall in front of you. “Iwaizumi said his spikes were improving, but that’s just ridiculous!”  
You didn’t have time to be amazed for too long, however. With the score at 24-23, Karasuno’s match point, Aoba Johsai made a switch and brought out Kentaro Kyotani. “This will not end well.”

To your relief, despite spiking the ball with all his force and scaring you half to death with risk of deuce, Kyotani hit the ball out, and inadvertently won the set for Karasuno.  
Down below it seemed there was some strife amongst Aoba Johsai and understandably so. Kyotani had not only gone for a ball that wasn’t his, but pushed Kindaichi out of the way to get it AND still got it out _during match point_. The sheer amount of wrongness to that play had your head spinning. Luckily it looked like Iwaizumi was there to help keep the returning player in line. Apparently he was a pain in the neck, but after losing a lot of times to Iwaizumi, he learned to respect and listen to the Ace.

Now into the second set, Kyotani was proving to be a rather intimidating foe. First an insane cut-shot, then bumping into Makki like it wasn’t a big deal at all, and even further going on to give a full swing against a 3-person block. He was making mistakes, sure, but each time he did there was real anger behind it, the kind that would affect the atmosphere of both sides of the court. If it was anyone other than Oikawa calling the shots there, you’d have expected your own team to pull ahead.

Instead, different measures were being taken to try and take back the lead. Peeking your head forward a bit, you could see Sugawara being called to the bench. Was Coach Ukai actually going to switch him in? It didn’t seem like Kageyama was doing too bad, unless…  
Before you could finish your line of thinking, however, Oikawa was up to serve, and for the first time that match, made one of his insane serves inbounds and past the receivers. That… that was not good. Not good at all. His next serve wasn’t so lucky, but the intense aftershock of what he had accomplished lingered as Karasuno scrambled to earn another point.

As Sugawara was swapped in to take over Tsukishima’s serve, you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. You couldn’t imagine the first match back at the inter-high was anything like this, or everyone would have had to have drowned in the waves of pressure by now.  
Switching good ol’ Suga in proved to be a masterful tactic, the third year aiming his serves to throw off Kyontani and succeeding, even managing an impressive combo where he was setting and the other five went for a sync attack. Everything must have happened in only a minute, but it was so breathtakingly cool!

“SUGA!!! Nice job!” You shouted down to him, waving frantically until he noticed, grinning and winking back up at you.

“Ohohoho~!” Saeko sang, a grin spread across her face (and not just because of the successful point earned).

Once Aoba Johsai caught onto Suga’s tactic, they countered, preventing the score from tying up and putting the Setter back out of the game.  
It was looking like your old school would be winning the second set.

With Aoba at 23 and Karasuno at 19, Hinata had rotated to serve, only to be swapped out with Yamaguchi. Here was his chance to prove himself and no longer run. You narrowed your eyes in focus, shoulders tensed.  
The air stilled as he approached the court. Soon, the whistle blew, and you could hear the thump of your heart in your ears. The toss went up, Yamaguchi’s hand carefully connecting with it and sending the ball across the court.

“Out!” You heard Aoba’s Libero call, but then, all momentum stopped, and the ball dropped in-bounds.

“YAMAGUCHI!!!” You felt yourself shouting in excitement. If you were able to jump with joy, you would have. “Nice serve!!!” The other’s beside you shouted similar sentiments, all in over-the-top excitement. From an outsider’s perspective you probably looked silly getting that hyped over one point. But then one point became two. And then they had gained three.  
Until Aoba was forced to take a time out and physically stop the momentum.

“Ahh… I can finally breath again.” You joked, gripping the railing in front of you, but leaning back.

“He actually forced them to take a time out!” Shimada looked happier than anyone, grinning up a storm. It was nice to see a teacher that supportive to his student.

“I’m really proud of him.” You whispered to yourself. The whistle was blown again as the players scrambled to get back to their positions and Yamaguchi once again was given the ball.  
His serve was a risky one, just barely making it over to the other side, but sure enough: He almost single-handedly brought the scores tied once more.

Despite the next serve being received properly, another long rally ended in yet another surprising point. Karasuno had taken the lead. Not for long, however, as Yamaguchi’s serve was received yet again, Iwaizumi spiking the ball and overpowering the receive.  
Now it was the dreaded Deuce.

Truth be told, though… you were happy for Iwaizumi and it took a lot not to cheer for him loudly. There was time to congratulate his efforts later. His and Oikawa’s, you had to remind yourself.

There was a long time where points were gained back and forth, until Oikawa himself was up to serve, and then, even after a long rally, Aoba scored the match point they needed and successfully won the second set.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick…” You muttered as another wave of anxiety washed over you. At least before, you had class to distract you, or the lack of visuals all together, but this was very real and you were  _ very _ concerned.

The third set started rough, but a few smart calls, some strong serves from Asahi, and a smart use of Tanaka and Kyotani’s rivalry evened out the score until Karasuno could pass once more after earning their ninth point. Understandably, Aoba Johsai called for a time out before Tsukishima could serve again. What was less understandable was that the time out effectively did nothing to stop the momentum of the game.  
With another couple of points, Kyotani was switched back out for Kunimi. It wasn’t long, however, as another couple of points found the Mad Dog back on the court, calmer than before. That wouldn’t be good for your team. (Which was evident once there was another tie at 12 points)

Point after point, neither side let up for even a second.  
But then, in the blink of an eye, one of Oikawa’s serves brought them to match point, Karasuno only a couple behind. After a brief time out, Oikawa served once more, this time miraculously received by Daichi, leading to the on struggling fight to deuce.  
Which was exactly why Sugawara was switched in place of Tsukishima. Another intelligently aimed serve cut Iwaizumi out of the picture and a risky, but effective block from Hinata tied the scores for what felt like the millionth time that game. Suga served once more, forcing Aoba’s Ace to lose balance and even managed to save the ball just before it hit the court, giving Kageyama the opening he needed to dump.

There was an eerie coldness in Oikawa’s eyes after that. It was a look you had worn once or twice, when everyone would begin to doubt, but you weren’t ready to give in.  
A strange sense of melancholy came over you as you watched the next play. Suga served up front once more, causing Iwaizumi to lose balance, but Kyotani was there to hit instead. A not-so-solid receive from Tanaka (to his forehead) gave way to another chance to attack, Asahi spiking with all his might just to have Makki dive for the receive. But the trajectory was off.

In a scene that seemed straight out of a movie, you watched with wide eyes as Oikawa dashed after the ball, his left hand raised for just a moment to point to Iwaizumi.

“He’s calling his shot.” Just when you thought you couldn’t grip tighter at the wall, you did, knuckles turning white. For a flicker of a moment, you wanted to call out. You wanted to cheer on Iwaizumi, one of your closest friends and someone who was always there for you without asking, without intrusion. All the words were caught in your throat as Oikawa set the ball to its destination, being spiked and subsequently received by Daichi. The Aoba Johsai setter scrambled up from where he had ran into a table, a mad dash back to the court. On the Karasuno side, Tanaka dove and managed to connect the ball, sending it up for what everyone presumed to be a chance ball for the other side.  
But Asahi jumped, preventing that from happening as he performed a back attack like he had never done before. Despite the libero touching the ball moments before it could hit the ground, the spin on it ended up leading straight to the net.

Kyotani reached as far as he could, launching it up once more. A voice called for Kageyama to hit it, but Kindaichi blocked at the last second, ricocheting the ball into Sugawara’s face in an absurd manner. Near the back line, Hinata took a few steps back before barreling straight forward, calling the toss. It was as if everything slowed to the pace of eroding rocks. So slow…  
It felt so slow…

Oikawa stepped to the right, knowing full well what would come next. He wasn’t far enough, though… you knew that. You could somehow  _ see _ that.  
Hinata’s spiking aim led to a wipe, one that the Great King could almost have saved, but he just wasn’t able to.  
The ball hit the ground, bouncing a few times. There was a whistle and a lot of cheering, but you felt conflicted. Even if for just one moment, you felt an internal struggle in your own mind, unsure how to proceed after finding out Karasuno just defeated Aoba Johsai.

You heard your name a couple of times, somewhere seemingly distant as you were forced from your own mind.

“Y-yes?” You asked, turning to Shimada who seemed perplexed in the moment.

“You… don’t look so good. Are you alright?”

“Yeah! Yeah…” Taking a deep breath, you gave a soft smile in hopes of fixing your apparent blunder. “I… I used to go to Aoba Johsai.” You admitted meekly. A look of understanding crossed his face, but before he could speak up, the Karasuno team had lined up below, about to do their greetings. You put on a brave face, knowing that you were indeed happy for them.  
It was just… the mixture of feelings at once had left you in a sort of numb state.

 

* * *

“You guys go ahead to see them!” Apparently your words seemed ridiculous, because everyone was staring at you with mouths agape.

“Wh-! Where are you going!? You’re their manager, right?!” Saeko was first to vocalize the shock, the other two standing aside awkwardly.

“I am.” You muttered. “But there’s someone I have to see… before they go. Tell them I’ll be right there, okay? I won’t be long!” You gave one last shout and wave as you hurried (at least as much as you could) down the stairs and into the halls of the building. Your eyes felt warm as you fought away the thoughts of this being the last chance for Aoba Johsai. The last chance for the third years…

“Oh?” A familiar voice stopped your rush as you turned to your right and saw Oikawa. His expression was softer than you might have imagined, but his eyes still held that bitter cold to them, even outside of the match.

“O-Oikawa.” You managed, wide eyed and internally scrambling for some sort of response.

“I thought you’d be with the crows right now.” He simply stated, mouth forming a thin line. You must have looked pathetic right then; Your eyes red and teary, breathing heavily from the rush there, and mouth slightly open.

“I had to see you guys first.” Even with your unsteady throat, you managed a reply, a reason for your being there so soon after the match. Why though? Why were you so determined to see them right away? What would you even say to them? Whatever you were there to do, it seemed Oikawa was simply surprised you were there in the first place, his own eyes widening at your words.

“I see.” He breathed out, taking a few steps closer. “You should be more concerned about your injury, though.” He pouted,  _ actually pouted _ , looking down at your leg.

“H-Huh?”

“Your leg. You shouldn’t be flying through the hallways like that, you were almost jogging!”

“I-It’s fine! I know what I’m doing. I just… I really didn’t want to miss you guys.” You shot back in defense, suddenly finding yourself avoiding his gaze.

“Say… do you have any regrets?” His tone dropped into something more serious and you had to fight to keep yourself from getting nervous.

“Regrets about what?” You saw him shrug from the corner of your eye.

“Becoming a manager, leaving Aoba Johsai… or maybe your final matc---”

“No.” You were staring him down again, frowning. “I don’t regret that match.” For a moment, you thought you were going to cry again, but suddenly that painful feeling was lighter, and as you thought back on nearly the year since the game… you smiled. “Maybe I did at first. But if I hadn’t dove for that ball, then… I wouldn’t have been who I was. Volleyball was my everything and I wanted to show that right up to the end.”

A long moment of silence passed over the two of you, Oikawa’s eyes like daggers that stared into your very being. Like he was looking through you, seeing the vulnerability at the edges of your confidence.

“Everything I’ve done since then… even the parts I’m not so happy with… led me to where I am now, and I haven’t felt this free in a long time.” You smiled, a single tear streaking down your face. On impulse, Oikawa moved a hand forward to wipe it away for you.

“I regret letting you leave.” His sudden whisper and movement caused you to tense up and relax all at once in some weird contradiction. Before you could sputter out some reaction, his gaze lifted and he was peering at someone behind you. “Iwa-chan. The bus will be here soon. Don’t be late.”

With that, he turned to leave, the squeak of his sneakers echoing in the eerily empty hallway. As realization hit you, you whipped around to face your friend.  
He looked like a mess, eyes red and face contorted into something unmistakably and painfully _sad_. You had to resist every urge you had to cry with him. For a long while, there was nothing, just the intense stare at one another.

“Iwa---” Just as you went to call his name, he shook his head as if to tell you to stop there. Any words you had for him would only wound him further. The stillness of the air was killing you as every second stretched out and you could do nothing to cease the stabbing pang in your heart. Iwaizumi was always someone who cared for you since you got into high school. He watched over you when you had no one to go to at home. Why couldn’t you do the same for him when he needed you most?

Finally, you just had to assume he couldn’t face you right then, and turned to leave.  
Maybe later when he had some time to cal---  
A hand reached out for you, gripping at the fabric of your club jacket. You stopped all motions, gently looking over your shoulder to see Iwaizumi with his head bowed and new tears trailing down his cheeks. That sight alone had you crying, too, as you spun around to face him again. In one swift motion, you wrapped your arms around him and allowed Iwaizumi to do the same to you. His fingers gripped strongly at the folds of fabric and you could hear every gasp for air.

It was the first time you had ever hugged him.

You weren’t the first one to say that volleyball was in your veins, but watching that game and taking in every moment of every player on that court…  
You could, without a doubt, proclaim that it was in all of **their** veins, pushing them forward in a fight where neither side ever thought of losing.  
And maybe, just maybe, that broke your heart a little.

 

* * *

“GAH! Have you been crying!?” Asahi was first to notice your approach as you returned from your side trip. Weakly, you rubbed at your eyes as you tried to come up with an excuse.

“WHO HURT YOU?!” Tanaka was next to shout way too loudly, his sister even flinching at his volume.

“N-No one! I just, uh… I… I, um…” Shoot. There was no lie you could have come up with that’d sound even the least bit convincing. “I went to see them.”

“Them?” Kageyama raised an eyebrow at you.

“Uh, yeah. Aoba Johsai.” That didn’t get such a great response from some of the members, but most of them seemed like they didn’t care at all.

“One final goodbye to the old you.” Sugawara sang with a pleasant smile. He side eyed you, zipping up something in his duffle bag before slinging it over his shoulder. “You’re a crow now,  _ officially _ , right?”

You paused a moment, wiping one last time at a wet spot on your face. One final goodbye…  
That sounded good to you. With the match all said and done, there was no more personal feelings to stop you from doing your best for your new team. Your new home.

“Right!”

 

* * *

After a bus ride back to Karasuno and a stunning display of school pride where everyone was apparently waiting for your arrival back, there was the importance of a meeting in the gym.  
You were groggy through most of it, but the bottom line was… they had done it. They made it to the finals and there was only one more fight for nationals. Not just ‘them’, however. That word wasn’t right anymore.  
All of you were going to finals.

“Suga, you’re staring at them.” Daichi quietly informed his friend as everyone tiredly headed to the club rooms to change.

“Huh?!” The bit of pink across his face was evident, especially when he turned his head to face the captain. “Am I?”

“Yep. Still think it’s not just  _ you _ who’s in love with them?”

“Hmm…” Suga seemed to give it some thought, rocking his head from side to side. “No. There’s definitely others, whether they’ve noticed or not. There’s just something about them that’s… infectious.”

“You’re making them sound like a virus.” Daichi deadpanned to the amusement of the setter.

“Very funny.” He rolled his eyes before continuing on. “I think… they’ve affected more people than they realize.”

And it was true. You were becoming a part of all of them, sometimes in small ways, but often in large, irrefutable ways.

For Ennoshita, you were one of his best friends. Having met you on that first day, he found someone to help, whose every smile only in turn helped him. He had never had someone care so much for him before without any asking, and you gave him confidence. At the end of the day, he was probably first in love with you at Karasuno.

For Tanaka, you respected him and never underestimated what he could do. There was no denying he was used to being the butt of the joke, but whenever you laughed, it was always with him. Nothing felt more safe than when he had an arm around you.

For Sugawara, your fragility gave him strength. As a natural caretaker, he was drawn to you from day one, but soon found the tables had turned a bit. You were suddenly another caretaker of the group and he felt warmth in your presence. Not to mention he loved the way you said his name.

For Asahi, you were someone who understood him wholly. You never asked him to change, but simply provided ways to help ease his worries. In fact, you shared many of them, but always stood as an example of the strength to come from picking yourself up. He admired that about you.

For Nishinoya, you were the heart.  _ The _ heart of the team, someone who brought up others like it was nothing. Just being around you always made him happy, especially when he could return the favor. All he wanted in life was to make you smile time and time again.

For Yamaguchi, you trusted him. Even when he felt he ruined everything, you not only forgave him, but revealed your secret. That trust built up and soon the two of you were always sharing insecurities with the other. Hell, you even made those doubts and pains easier to handle.

For Tsukishima, you never backed down. Maybe he found it infuriating at first, but you were never baseless in your claims, never tried to push him further than he’d go. You simply stood by him and did what you could to make him happy. He never even thanked you for all the work you somehow did as manager…

For Oikawa, you were a motivator. You were an enigma he had never seen before, someone who cared so much for the sport that it cost them. He was drawn in by your passion and kind heart, but always regretted letting you go. He always wanted to see the world through your eyes.

For Iwaizumi, you were natural to talk to. Every conversation felt easy and comfortable and you could go on for hours about anything. What started as a small crush on the cute person who stayed late after school, ended up a strong friendship, one where he always wished he could do more for you.

For Kuroo, you were the one that got away. The day you stepped back into his life, he was hurt, but coming to his sense he realized it was just because you had left him in Tokyo, broken hearted and oblivious to his feelings. Having you back was like you never left and he still craved that connection with you, never satisfied when you returned to Miyagi.

But with the finals just the next morning, you couldn’t even hope to have worried about all of that. Regardless of your feelings at the time, they were shoved aside to do the best for your current team.  
After all, little did those ten guys know…

For you, they were the reason you could stand on your own, unafraid of the past and looking forward to the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT  
> HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who's been reading this! I appreciate that people stuck around for all this Slow Building to the endings and endured through my rough start at writing all the characters ;v;
> 
> There are going to be 10 endings (Most of which shall be taking place during the Readers third-year) and possibly??? Maybe?? an eleventh ending that is simply a Neutral End that will leave open the possibility of a college au sequel with more endings, given I can feel motivated enough for that ahaha  
> I'd love to hear what endings you're most looking forward to, or even what endings you'd be interested in if there was a sequel!  
> Regardless, thank you again for reading up to this point, I super appreciate it <333


	21. A Whole New Perfect (Nishinoya Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Give Me Your Hand by The Ready Set
> 
> “Gotta record on the table,  
> And I think it’s gonna, gonna,  
> Make you wanna let go.  
> An opportunity to get a little wild,  
> Baby can I get a smile, smile?  
> Damn I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The order in which I'm writing these is kind of arbitrary so we shall see who is next -v-'')

“Alright, that’s enough for today!” Ennoshita called out, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get the equipment put back.”

You sighed, closing up your manager’s notebook as the gym began bustling with the Volleyball club’s clean up. Not much had changed from last year, outside of the Fresh Meat (first years) and Ennoshita being made Captain. You missed the third years, of course, but as time went on and they kept in contact, you found comfort in the new routine. It wasn’t so difficult handling the duties of a manager on your own either, despite how much work there actually was. No, there was a difficult part, but you knew that going in; Tanaka and Nishinoya simply loved to be around you any chance they had.

There was a distinct difference in how Kiyoko had handled them and how you handled them, though. Where she often brushed off their remarks (for the sake of her own sanity, no doubt.) you often indulged them, but in such a way that established you as the dominant force in the relationship.  
Every time they had a comment to supply, you always had a clever, but distancing response. Of course, that only worked when Tanaka was included… when it was just Noya, on the other hand---

“How did I do today?” He was suddenly in front of you, grinning even as you startled.

“Oh! Uh…” It was no understatement to say that maybe, just possibly, you had formed feelings for him over the past year or so. He was the first person to establish you as the ‘Heart of the Team’ and was always there to cheer you up when you felt disheartened. “I can, uh… look at my notes.” You finally managed, flipping open the notebook in your hands.

Noya simply waited patiently, his eyes never leaving you. The intense gaze was making your own face warm.

“Overall, mostly successful receives today, but Yamaguchi’s getting more experienced at his jump floaters. You’ll need to work on a counter for that, cause you missed a few earlier.” Your eyes hadn’t left the pages until you scanned all of the information. “As his serves evolve, your movements have to as well.” With slow motions, you closed the book and looked at the Libero once more. “Noya? Were you… listening there?”

“Of course!” He shot back, fists not resting not-so-gently on his waist. You snickered, looking back over as the majority of the club finished cleaning up.

“Good. But you should probably at least try and help with the clean up.”

“Nah, the first years need to learn discipline. It’s good if they have more work to do.”

“What happened to trying to be a good senpai?” You asked with an eyebrow raise. Noya’s own expression softened as he shyly glanced away. Just as he went to make an excuse, however, Tanaka shouted for him. “Looks like you’re needed, oh guardian deity of karasuno. I’m going to talk to Ennoshita.” You gave him a small wave before heading off, trying hard to ignore the fact that he was still watching you all the while.

As everyone began to leave for the evening, you as the good manager you were, made sure everything was left in good condition before leaving yourself. You had insisted to Ennoshita and Tanaka that you would be fine if you ended up heading home alone, seeing as the moon was only just peeking out from the distance.  
What you hadn’t expected when you finally left from getting changed was your name being called, and Nishinoya standing just a bit away, waving his arms. You paused, blinking twice.

“Noya? What are you still doing here?” You asked as you approached. He grinned, and had it not been for the darkness of the night, you’d have sworn he was blushing a bit.

“I wanted to walk you home, of course!” His voice was always loud. But not just that, he always sounded confident and self-assured. There was never hidden doubt behind his words and you wished you could carry yourself in the same way.

“What? We live in nearly opposite directions. Your turn comes way before mine once we pass Ukai’s store.” Your mouth narrowed into a thin line, readjusting the bag over your shoulder. Nishinoya seemed to frown at that, looking at you like you didn’t understand at all.

“No, no! I mean  _ walk you to your home _ . Like, to your door!” His voice was lowered, not in volume of course, but in pitch.

“Wh-What?” You sputtered for a bit, mouth opening and closing as you searched for the right words to say to him. “Th-That’s just absurd, even for you. I mean that kind of thing is usually meant for…  _ you know _ … c-couples.” Your eyes were suddenly looking anywhere  _ but _ at him as you fought the warmth in your face. He simply laughed.

“I know that! But I want to, so come on!” He held out his hand towards you, but you simply shook your head and walked past. Whatever it was he was trying to accomplish right then, you had to dismiss it.  
There was no point getting your hopes up when he almost undoubtedly tried that stuff with Kiyoko, too.

“I’m not going to stop you, I guess. Don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”

“Great!” Noya laughed again, quickly turning to follow after you. The way his eyes lit up made your heart hurt.  
You couldn’t let it happen, though. You couldn’t let anything happen. You were just another person in his life to replace any previous one he had his eyes on. You just had to keep reminding yourself of that.

* * *

 

 

“Alright, Noya. Truth or Dare?” You asked, leaning forward on your hands. You, along with the other third years, were just wrapping up a study session at Tanaka’s house when Kinoshita had suggested a wind-down game. When Tanaka brought up Truth or Dare, no one really rejected it, and so you all went around in a circle more or less, asking questions and giving challenges.

“Dare!” Noya proudly proclaimed, leaning over the table to get closer to you.

“How about… chug the rest of that soda?” You gestured towards a half-empty 40 ounce bottle of some generic lemon-lime soda. The libero dove for it, getting to work right away. “Andd while he does that, Kinoshita it’s your turn to ask.”

“Sweet.” The blonde glanced around the circle, eyes falling on Tanaka. “Truth or dare, baldy?”

“Oi! Watch the nickname. And truth this time.” He had done dare nearly the whole time, trying to prove his manliness or something, but the group was running out of dare-material.

“Fuck, Marry, Kill: Ennoshita, Narita, and myself.”

“Please leave me out of this.” Narita deadpanned, munching away on some chips.

“Nope, you’re coming down with us.” Kinoshita gave a thumbs up as if to resolve the issue.

“Hmmm…” Tanaka thought a moment, closing his eyes and bringing a hand up to his chin. “Fuck Narita, cause it’s kind of like fucking myself I guess. Marry Ennoshita since he’s basically a mother already.”

“Hey!” Ennoshita narrowed his eyes in a glare.

“And Kill Kinoshita for coming up with the question in the first place.”

“Fair.” With a shrug, Kinoshita pointed towards Tanaka as next to go. Nishinoya had just finished the soda, standing up to add it with the rest of the empties (it wasn’t the first time you made someone chug that night) and, oddly enough, changing his seating to be in between you and Narita.

“Okay~!” Tanaka mischievously sang as he eyed Ennoshita. “Captain! Truth or Dare!”

“I do not trust you with any question you could ask me, so Dare.” Ennoshita was still glaring, as if there was something he knew Tanaka would ask given the chance.

“I dare you to kiss our lovely manager.”

“That’s not happening and you know it.”

“Fine!” Tanaka sighed, pouting slightly. “We’ll lower it to holding their hand. Is that  _ pure _ enough for you?”

“Why am I the target here?” You pondered aloud, irritation AND embarrassment evident in your voice.

“Cause you’re the cutest in the room.” Kinoshita supplied the answer, earning a nod of approval from Tanaka himself.

“Look, they’re clearly uncomfortable, just give me a different dare.” Ennoshita finally demanded, his glare not letting up for even a second.

“Don’t worry, Chikara, I’ve got this!” Nishinoya’s voice was always so startling when you had forgotten how close he was. Before you could think through what he had said, however, his hand was already on yours, moving to lace the fingers together. Your face turned red at the sudden contact.  
Having the table blocking most of the group’s view didn’t help either, only Narita close enough to see the motion.

“I, uh, don’t think you can just take someone else’s dare like that, Nishinoya…” He quietly stated, causing everyone else to jump up from their seats and look.

“NOYA, GOING FOR THE KILL!” Tanaka was suddenly shouting, half his body splayed across the table. You were simply in shock, unable to move or react in any way, shape, or form.

“G-Guys, give them some space! Game’s over, it’s getting late and we should all go home!” Ennoshita, channeling his inner-captain, suddenly broke the tension forcefully. He gripped the back of Tanaka’s shirt and lifted him from the table. “Nishinoya, let go of them. They’re petrified.”

“Huh?” Noya suddenly peered to his left and at your face, realization hitting him. “Oh! I’m so sorry!” His grip loosened, jerking his hand away within a second. You retracted your own, gaze falling to your lap as Ennoshita quickly ejected everyone from the room (even Tanaka, who lived there).

You couldn’t let him affect you like that. You just couldn’t. You weren’t special to him, so why did you let everything get so out of control like that?!

 

* * *

“Okay. Noya. Buddy, pal… what the actual heck?” It was a month or so later, a long weekend after a week of brutal practices. Outside of Hinata and Kageyama, most of the club was taking the chance at a small break. Nishinoya, apparently, somehow thought that meant it was time to get a car and license. You were in fact standing in front of said car as Noya gestured to it much like a gameshow host.

“Isn’t it awesome!? Isn’t it PERFECT?!” He cheered, changing position to gesture differently at every phrase. You laughed nervously, still not sure how to take it in.

“Alright, back up! When did you get your license?!”

“Yesterday.”

“Okay… sure… why, though?”

“Well,” Nishinoya’s enthusiatic grin dropped as he shrugged. “I’m not going to college next year, so I’ll need something to get me to my job or in case I have to leave Miyagi for work. You know?”

“ _ I guess? _ ” One eyebrow shot up as you looked closer at the vehicle. “You passed the tests so… you can’t be that bad of a driver.” You muttered weakly, knowing just how hard it was to get a license in Japan.

“I’m amazing, I promise! So!” He stood next to you, his hand as his side gently brushing against yours. You felt your heart skip a beat. “Wanna go on a trip?” You shyly stepped away, closer to the hood of the car.

“Wait, what? Right now?” You looked at him incredulously. He didn’t seem to waiver in the slightest.

“Of course! We can drive out to the east and see the ocean! Maybe just go to a bigger city and window shop! Anything you want!” There was so much unbridled joy in his voice, he bounced a bit closer. He was eyeing you expectantly, and the way he always looked at you like you were the only thing that mattered… well…

It was starting to get to you.

“Fine, fine.” You sighed, but soon smiled thinking of the ocean. It had been forever since you were near it, despite living on an island. The last time had to have been when you were just a young kid living in the city.

“You’re beautiful when you smile.” Somehow your neck didn’t snap as you whipped around to look at Nishinoya after he spoke those words. You searched and searched for a hint of mockery or platonic meaning or  _ anything _ . Anything that didn’t pull you along further into falling for him.

_ God, you could not be falling for him. _

“L-Let’s just get in the car!” You burst out suddenly before hopping into the passenger’s side. Noya gave a small cheer, joining you a moment later. You glanced at your phone, wondering if you should have alerted your mother that you were going to be gone the whole day, but decided that might have defeated the purpose of doing something spontaneous.  
With Noya you never knew what to expect and there was something fun and exciting about that.

 

* * *

Noya left the windows down, the wind blowing both of your hair back as you sped down a surprisingly abandoned highway. The radio was on, barely audible and really just there to serve as background noise. Until, you could faintly hear one of your favorite songs, one that always made you want to dance or at least tap your foot.

“I love this song!” You loudly proclaimed, Noya looking to his left briefly with a grin. His hand gently nudged the volume knob, raising the music to a much more audible level and filling your ears with an all too familiar tune.

“Me too!” He shouted back, eyes returning to the road. Although, internally, he wished he could watch you the whole time. You were always so serious and formal with him, trying hard to maintain your image as Manager. To have that opportunity, that chance, that one  _ moment _ where you simply let go and enjoyed yourself… that meant  **everything** to him.

And when you started to  _ sing along _ , Noya was convinced his heart would stop right then and there and he’d die in that car, the happiest he’d ever been. You sounded so  _ free _ , even if for just one song. There was a moment where you messed up the words, stuttering a few times before laughing and,  _ god _ , in that moment Noya was so glad you had said yes to trip. How would anything have topped that car ride?

When the two of you pulled up to a viewing spot, sun just starting to dip below the horizon, he finally looked at you again, hair all windswept and a permanent grin etched into your face. That was an image he could certainly get used to.

“We’re here!!!” He cheered, hopping out of the vehicle and rushing over to open your side. You meekly chuckled at the gesture, stepping out of the car. There was a breeze and you found yourself sighing in comfort at the feeling. Noya went to offer his hand, and again, you faltered at the motion, pretending like you didn’t see it in the first place. Instead, you approached the railings that looked out to the ocean below.

“It’s so beautiful!” You gasped, leaning forward onto your arms. Nishinoya came up from behind, taking the spot to your left. For once, he remained quiet, his pleasant smile plastered to his face as he enjoyed the moment. The small pocket of time he was blessed with where he could simply be with you and just you. No one else got to see you like this, so uninhibitedly happy. He cherished that as much as he could.

“I’m so glad you came with me.” He finally stated after a solid five minutes of just silence. You dared a glance to his face, but noted how he kept staring forward. The sun was beginning to set indefinitely.

“I almost feel like you should have waited to bring someone special with you…” A small, but nervous laugh escaped you as you tried to ease the mood into something that wouldn’t kill your frail heart.

“I did.” Was the response.

“Oh.” Was yours. Another long silence fell over the two of you.

“Do you not believe me?” Nishinoya, his tone much more serious than you were used to, asked. For a second, you sorted through your options, but opted for nothing, shrugging instead. He seemed to want a vocal response, though, since his eyes never left the ocean view.

“I guess I thought Kiyoko would have been your first choice.” You muttered bitterly, straining hard to not show your true feelings. An angry huff left Nishinoya as he leaned back and turned to you.

“Stop comparing yourself to her! You’re not Kiyoko and Kiyoko’s not you! You’re two different people!” He wasn’t always a goofball, you had to remind yourself. There were times he became more serious than anyone else. A lot of times.  
But that didn’t stop your sad smile, or the way you slumped forward even more onto the rails. The cold metal against your rapidly warming skin was a welcome sensation.

You had no idea what he wanted from you. No idea why he decided to spend time with you or force his way into your heart more and more. No idea who he thought he was, wearing his heart on his sleeve for so many people. Maybe it was selfish, but at the end of the day… you wanted to be the only person he cared for to that degree, and you assumed you’d never be that.  
Again, with his hand stretched out to you, you ignored it, waiting instead for his words to catch up to his impulsive actions.

“Did you want to go home?” Was not what you expected him to ask. Your head shot up, eyes wide at the thought of leaving just half an hour after you had arrived.

“Why did you bring me?” You found yourself wondering aloud, eyebrows furrowed. His hand dropped to his side once more.

“You know why.”

“ _ Do I?! _ ” Why were you shouting? What was the point in doing that? “I  _ never _ know what’s going on in your head! I can never tell!” He only watched with an intense gaze as you continued on. “Fuck, I can’t believe you! All this time and with how  _ blunt _ you always are and you can’t just tell me how you feel!?”

“Do you want to know?” His voice was steady, as if you were the only one invested in the moment at all.

“Of course I do! You’re always saying these things and make me feel special but I know I’m not and it’s pissing me off!” Those were most certainly tears running down your cheek as your voice cracked mid sentence. Nishinoya’s expression softened, as, yet again, he reached out his open hand to you.

“Give me your hand.” Was his command, but you hesitated, until he whispered your name, and for the first time… you felt drawn to the idea of your fingers intertwined, to the concept of his palm against yours. You reached out and took his hand in your own. He took a deep breath, smile returning.

“What?” You mumbled in question.

“You’re adorable.” He shot back, squeezing your hand gently. “And you always amaze me with your bravery and strength. You hold the team together better than anyone. I respect you for your capabilities and dedication and your humor. And on top of all of that!” He grinned at your look of shock. “You have the most stunning smile I have ever seen.”

“... Noya…” You breathed out in embarrassment, a giddy smile forcing itself onto your face.

“I’m falling for you! And if you had ever asked sooner, I would have told you straight away! You shouldn’t just let yourself get down when you could have told me how  _ you _ felt!” As your blush deepened, Noya laughed brightly, and pulled you closer by the hand. “How  **do** you feel?”

“I feel like an idiot right about now.” You shyly admitted, shoulders tensing. “For someone as bright and amazing as yourself to actually like me back… augh, I feel light headed!”

“I can make that worse.” He replied, not giving you a chance to respond before his free hand found its way to the back of your neck and he was pulling your lips to his. You froze for a bit, but soon enough found yourself leaning into the kiss and gripping his hand tighter. Time felt as if it stopped as the two of you took in that moment; A first kiss next to the ocean with the sun setting in the distance. Your heart was hammering in your chest. “How was that?” Nishinoya pulled away first, although he could have stayed like that for forever.

“Breathtaking, for sure.” You managed, letting go of his hand only to steady yourself against the railing.

“Ahahaha! You’re so cute when you’re like that!” He teased with a boisterous laugh. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for today, though! Let’s start heading back.”

The drive home was comfortable as you sang along to yet another catchy song, Nishinoya grinning all the while.  
It had seemed he was successful at stealing the Heart of the Team.

And neither of you could be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayyy first of 10 endings  
> I feel like this was half-decent so I hope!!! That you guys enjoyed ;v;


	22. Thank Me Later (Tanaka Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bittersweet by Panic! At The Disco
> 
> “You and me, in our proverbial tree,  
> It’s such a mystery why you’re here.  
> (But I can’t live without you)  
> You became, as clear as cellophane  
> My voice of reasoning.”

“Do you need help with that?” Tanaka cheerfully asked as you began packing away the bags into the bus after an away practice game. The Inter-high preliminaries were just around the corner (the first tournament since Ennoshita and Tanaka took over with Captain and Vice-Captain duties) and that meant doing your part to set up as many practice matches as you could manage. Since you were, well, Manager, after all.  
You weren’t third years for long at all yet, but already you saw the signs of maturity behind Tanaka’s every action.

“I’ve got it, but thank you.” You flashed him a grin before returning to your work, noting how he remained near you.

“... Are you  _ sure _ ?” Alright, so maybe he still acted like a kid on occasion, but that was most certainly a part of his charm.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Shouldn’t you be resting? You played like, eight sets today! Go, get on the bus!” You turned towards him, gently pressing against his shoulder to edge him forward. He simply laughed, allowing you to budge him despite the fact that he could have probably stayed in that spot for a long time. “Goooo, you dork!”

“Hey, you don’t get to call me that.” While the words might have come across aggressive, the light hearted look on his face said otherwise. “Baldy? Sometimes. But dork? I’m the coolest guy you know!”

“Nah, that’s Noya.” You shot back with little thought given. Every part of Tanaka seemed to deflate at that as he slowly sulked towards the bus’ entry. You chuckled, only feeling a tiny bit bad, as you finished loading the bags up.

The bus ride back was quiet to say the least, as most of the team members were asleep, including the new first years somewhere near the front. You, along with the other third years, often kept to the back of the bus. Ennoshita and yourself also still kept to your seating arrangement, except now it was reversed, so you had the aisle seat on the ride back; Somewhere that always made sleep elude you. There wasn’t much to complain about, however. It was kind of nice to just enjoy the trip back while everyone snoozed away.

“Can’t sleep?” Tanaka’s voice startled you, almost causing you to knock an elbow into your sleeping friend beside you.

“Tanaka! You scared me!” You whisper-shouted behind your shoulder. Sure enough, Tanaka was awake, a dozing Nishinoya spread out over half of the back row of seating. The wing-spiker bashfully smiled at you in apology. “It’s fine. Yeah, I can’t really sleep without something to lean on--- stop that.” Mid sentence, Tanaka had gestured to his shoulder with a wiggle of the eyebrows.

“It’d be rude if I didn’t offer, ever think about that?”

“I try not to ponder the exact societal norms of shoulder sleeping, no.” You retorted with narrowed eyes. A few moments later, though, you cracked a smile, and had to keep yourself from laughing too loudly.

“Always with your fancy advanced class words! You wound me.”

“I hardly think the terms ‘ponder’ and ‘societal’ are all that fancy.”

“They are to a country boy!” Tanaka was laughing, too, leaning forward on his knees to help when he lowered his voice.

“Just ‘cause I didn’t grow up in Miyagi doesn’t mean I’m suddenly some kind of elite. Although, I guess Tsukishima would say otherwise, huh?”

“Blegh! That pompous asshole just can’t stand the idea of someone smarter than him.”

“Ooo, pompous! Now  _ that’s _ a fancy word!” You pointed with your index finger, winking once. Tanaka nearly lost control of the volume of his laughter then, one hand resting on his stomach.

“You got me there! Guess hangin’ around you has been payin’ off!”

“Ah, yes. Learning is contagious.” You muttered with an eye roll. “What are you doing awake right now anyway? You should be more tired than anyone, Ace.”

“Ooo, don’t call me that, it still feels weird.” Another chuckled escaped his lips as he leaned further forward. His hands clasped together, you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really? I thought you’d be all about that, what with the same obsession for being called ‘senpai’ as Nishinoya has and all.”

“That’s… different.” He straightened up his posture, face slightly shifting to something more serious. Your own smile dropped as you awaited elaboration. “I haven’t earned the title yet, I don’t think. I’m still learning how to be a vice-captain and a good leader, I’m not… I’m not Ace material yet.”

“You were Ace material all of last year.” You plainly stated, earning a soft gasp in surprise from Tanaka. His eyes found yours and for a moment, the two of you sat in silence, until the realization hit you and you suddenly couldn’t look him in the eyes without your heartbeat rising. “I-I-I just mean! You’re powerful and reliable! Vice-captain… Ace… they’re actually really similar when you think about it. You don’t have to tackle them one at a time if they’re so much the same, right?”

“Heh. You’re a great manager.”

“I try.”

 

* * *

“Hey, Tanaka. Wait up a second.” Ennoshita called just before Tanaka could walk out to the open road. It was getting dark as you all had arrived back to school post-practice match.

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about something.” He responded gently as he fell into step with his Vice-captain. Tanaka didn’t seem convinced as he eyes the other suspiciously. “Yeesh, this isn’t about your performance or anything, calm down. You’re worse than Tsukishima.”

“Oi! No one’s worse than that little shit!” His eyes narrowed further at the accusation. Ennoshita simply laughed, shaking his head.

“Alright, that was too far, I’ll admit. We’re getting off topic, though.”

“Right. What was the topic in the first place?” Tanaka grinned widely, shoving both his hands in his pockets. With an eyeroll, Ennoshita continued on.

“Your ridiculously huge crush on a certain manager.”

“Kiyoko? She graduated, why are we---”

“Not Kiyoko.” Ennoshita deadpanned. There was a long pause.

“I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“ _ Tanaka. _ ”

“Sh-Shut up, there’s nothing going on there. What even made you think of that?!”

“I was awake.” Ennoshita said with a shrug. “You guys woke me up with all your talking. You  _ very _ clearly have it bad.” It took Tanaka a second to realize what was being said, and when he looked to his friend, there was only a large smirk on his face.

“Stop that. You look like Suga when he caught me helping out Hinata and Kageyama last year.” He sighed, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow. That was not the kind of conversation he wanted to get into with Ennoshita, especially knowing what he knew. “I dunno what makes you think this is anything special.”

“You’re completely different around them. It’s almost like you have some soft-mushiness under that punk exterior of yours. And I think they’re picking up on it, too, even if they don’t act on it when anyone else is around.”

“Ennoshita---”

“I don’t mind, really. They’re one of my best friends and so are you. At least I get to go to college with them, but this is your only chance.”

“What are you sayin’?”

“I’m saying,” Ennoshita stopped walking, his eyes staring daggers into Tanaka. It was only a moment, just one passing second, but it felt like everything stilled for the declaration. “If you don’t act now, I’m not going to lose to you.” It was a challenge.

And who was Tanaka to turn down a challenge?

 

* * *

It had been an awful day.  
Just one thing after another ever since you left your house, and things were starting to pile up. But you were their manager, their heart, and you couldn’t have sat around and moped all day. So you put on a brave face and managed all throughout practice, only being asked once if you were alright. That alone was a new record from last year, where every time you felt remotely down everyone could tell simply at a glance. It was important to maintain your image, otherwise you might have risked disheartening the team itself.

So when practice wrapped up, you heaved a sigh of relief, and felt tension ease up in your shoulders. It was only a few more minutes and then you’d be free to some alone time to get over all of your pent up feelings.  
As soon as the gym was cleared up, you headed towards the changing room, giving a small wave to the first years who passed you on their way home. Everything was quieting down and you entered the room alone, of course. It wasn’t long until that silence was broken, however, by a text tone.

You opened up the message, a picture sent from Sugawara of him and Daichi in a study group. It was something that would usually make you smile, knowing they were working hard in college, but still thinking of you. However, after the shitty day you had… it just hurt.  
You missed them.  
You missed when Sugawara was there, the ever-comforting vice-captain who always knew when something was wrong. And Daichi, the captain who could notice the smallest changes in his team.  
You weren’t happy that you could hide so much from your team.

Soon enough, you were huddled on the floor, crying softly into your arms. You had wanted to wait until you got home, so at least you’d be comfortable in your bed, sheets pulled up and over you to block out any light. Instead, you were too weak and you couldn’t even get yourself to leave the club room.

It felt like ages passed, until there was a soft knock on the door and your head shot up. You heard your name said and recognized it was Tanaka’s voice.

“Are you still in there? I’ve been waiting at the gate.” He let out a soft chuckle, as if to ease any guilt from that thought.

“U-Um, yeah. Sorry.” You tried your best to hide the cracking of your voice. “You can go on ahead, I’m fine. Sorry to make you wait.”

“What?” Tanaka sighed, leaning against the door. “I waited this long to check up on you, I’m not going anywhere.”

To check up on you? Was he… worried about you? No, that couldn’t be… the only person who had seemed to notice anything wrong was Ennoshita, and he dropped it so easily after you insisted you were fine. Tanaka had said nothing all day.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it earlier, but you seemed… well… pretty down today.” There was your answer. Tanaka waited another moment, but when you didn’t respond, you could hear him shifting uneasily. “Oi, don’t just ignore me.”

“I-I’m fine! Just go home.”

“Not when you’re acting like that I won’t.” He grumbled. “I’m coming in.” He suddenly warned, turning the knob and clearly looking to the side on the off-chance you were still changing.

“I’m not naked.” You assured him, probably sounding more annoyed than you intended. It was a nice gesture, but you simply weren’t in the mood for pleasantries. Tanaka shifted his gaze to you, eyebrows shooting up at the sight of your red eyes and fetal position.

“Have you been crying!? Are you alright? Did someone do something to you? Cause I’ll beat their ass into next Tuesday  _ I swear _ \---”

“No! Yeesh, calm down! It’s just…” You ducked your head even lower, mumbling into your knees. “It’s just been a really, really bad day.” Within the next few moments, Tanaka was sat beside you, throwing an arm over your shoulder. He always did that, you noted, whenever he saw you getting overwhelmed. It was comforting, just having someone there next to you.

“Did you want to talk about it?”

“I miss them.” You managed, tears welling in your eyes once more. Tanaka’s grip tightened around you, pulling you to his shoulder. “And I’m going to miss everyone after this year.” Your sobs grew in strength, your crying starting to become visible in the form of wet spots on Tanaka’s sleeve. He nodded gently, rubbing small circles on your shoulder.

“Me too.” Was all he whispered, leaning toward you to place a gentle and sincere kiss to the top of your head. “But they aren’t out of your life. Hell, I don’t think Suga could stay away from you even if he tried. How do I explain this… uh…” He paused, huffing in irritation. “Volleyball isn’t just some club in highschool, right? At least, I guess, not for everyone. And definitely not for us! It’s a bond we shared, and that doesn’t break over night.”

“Thank you…” You muttered pathetically into the fabric of his shirt.

“We can stay here for a bit more. I’ll walk you home when you’re ready.”

 

* * *

 

It had been a month since that incident. Tanaka had to admit to Ennoshita later what happened, since he was constantly asking. There wasn’t any big upset from the information, just a mild sigh and a look of indignation that vanished in the blink of an eye.  
He even went on to text Sugawara, letting him know you were missing them. He wasn’t sure what that’d actually accomplish, but maybe they’d call you a bit more, or visit once in awhile to try and quell those feelings you were having.

Tanaka knew he had it bad, just like Ennoshita had said.  
You consumed his thoughts. Which is why he nearly missed the fact his phone was ringing in his pocket, Sugawara’s name flashing on the screen.

“Yo. What’s up, Suga?”

“Sooo, how long has it been? A month? A few? Or have I been that oblivious since last year?”

“You and Ennoshita really don’t beat around the bush, huh?” Tanaka let out with mild irritation. Sugawara’s laugh came from the other side, all breathy.

“Guess not! Glad someone’s taking up position of group mom then.”

“So you finally admit you were the mom?” Tanaka asked with a smirk. He could hear the groan Sugawara made.

“That’s not the point right now. I called to make sure you weren’t going to just be the nice guy and let someone else have them without at least trying. They’re not going to make the first move, so don’t waste your chance.”

“Suga…” More irritation escaped Tanaka as he was half-scolded over the phone. It was too early in the morning for that shit.

“Daichi and I will be back in Miyagi for summer break. If you haven’t at least  _ confessed _ by then, you’ll be hearing from me.” He was serious. He was 100% serious about Tanaka speaking up, and that deeply scared him. “I don’t know what you’ve been taught growing up, but… I don’t see anything unmanly about going after what you want. You know if Noya was in your shoes, he’d whisk them off their feet.”

“Fine, fine. I’ve gotta go, morning practice.”

“Alright. I’ve got a class to get to. Talk to you soon, Tanaka!”

 

* * *

Summer break was just around the corner and Tanaka had done no confessing at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, it was just… how was he supposed to do it? How would Nishinoya do it?  
He tried to shake the thoughts away, but there was no denying that he felt nervous whenever the two of you were alone, causing all words to be caught in his throat.

“Tanaka? You doing alright?” You asked, finding the Vice-captain outside of the gym before practice. “You’re… early. Which is weird.”

“I-I can be early sometimes, too!” He barked back, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the outside wall. You giggled at that and he felt his heart soar a bit.

“Sure, sure. Since you’re early, want to help me set up before Hinata and Kageyama get here?”

“Actually…” He started. But that was always as far as he got, just that one word. There was never anything of substance to follow. “Nevermind.”

“You keep doing that.” You pointed out with eyes narrowed. It was actually starting to get on your nerves how he went to speak, but never spoke. That had to have been the fifth time those last two weeks. “If you have something to say to me, please just say it.”

“N-No. Sorry.” He looked away from you, arms falling to his sides. You sighed and took a few steps closer, much to his embarrassment.

“Tanaka. You’ve been acting weird, and it’s starting to bother me.”

__ Think, Tanaka. Think!  
No words would come out, not even an excuse or possible rebuttal. He was running out of time, not just before summer break, but in general. He only had this year, just this one last time with you before college. You were planning to go to a different school and he needed something, anything to try and keep you in his life.  
You: the person who respected him from day one, the one who never shied away or ran from who he was as a person. You supported him, gave him self confidence in areas he hadn’t realized he was insecure.  
And laughing with you… he loved laughing with you so much.

When words fail, as they often did with him, there were only actions left.  
So, without another moment’s hesitation, he put a hand to the back of your neck and brought your lips together. The sudden force nearly caused you to topple into him, but you managed to plant hand onto the wall, melting into the kiss. After the momentary shock of _oh my gosh Tanaka is kissing me_ , you began to kiss back, enjoying how surprisingly gentle he was in his movements. His other arm found its way around your waist, pulling you closer. The sheer amount of warmth in being that close to him had your knees weak, so you, too, moved an arm to rest on his shoulder and stabilize yourself.

It had to have only been a minute or so, but you both pulled away after what felt like forever to evaluate what exactly had just happened. Your face turned beet red.

“Oh. OH my gosh.” You whispered, still close enough to his face you could see the color of his eyes perfectly. He grinned back at you.

“Does that fix it?” He asked quietly, breath warm against your skin. You shoved your face into his shoulder, trying to hide. “Bwahaha! You’re so cute!” He removed the arm from the back of your neck to join the other around your hips.

“Shut up!” You mumbled into his shirt. “You’re lucky I actually like you or you would’ve been punched by now!”

“It was a risk I was willing to take.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy I figured out what order I'm writing these in! Kinda doing little Pairs/Duos  
> So Tanaka & Nishinoya are done and next time will be Asahi & Sugawara
> 
> I really hope the endings are enjoyable and thank you for the patience while I write em ;v;


	23. Glass Heart (Asahi Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg
> 
> “I think that possibly, maybe,  
> I’m falling for you.  
> No one understands me,  
> Quite like you do.  
> Through all of the shadowy,  
> Corners of me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!  
> I've been getting a lot of headaches lately ;;v;;  
> I also... super struggled with writing this one, had to ask a friend for an idea so I'm sorry if it's not the best :' D

“That’s a wrap!” You called out, clapping your hands together at the end of a club meeting. Karasuno had just made it through preliminaries, which gave you all a couple of months to get ready for the qualifiers. It felt surreal when you thought back to exactly a year ago, how you had only recently been made manager for the boy’s team. How time flew…  
You took in a deep breath, clearing everyone out of the gym without hesitation. They were all exhausted anyway. No point arguing when they could collapse at any moment.

“Even you guys, Hinata and Kageyama. Don’t think I won’t notice you heading back inside, go home!” You glared daggers at them, watching as they slunk away to the clubroom. Keeping your eyes on the club members, you suddenly noticed the phone in your pocket vibrating. Without removing your eyes, you brought the device to your ear. “Hello?”

“Ah!” The surprised gasp from the other side was easy to recognize. “I, um, I didn’t expect you to answer so quickly.”

“You caught me at a good time, Azumane.” The smile that spread over your face was warm, despite the unusually cool night. Something about his meekness was always charming. “It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Right! Okay. Sorry I haven’t… kept in contact.” There was sincerity to his words.

“No, it’s fine. You’ve been busy with work and moving out and stuff.” You had heard from Suga and Daichi, so at least it wasn’t six months without any word, just not from the man himself. Still, you appreciated he was calling at all. You missed him.

“That’s… not really an excuse on my part.” His tone dropped and you could vividly imagine the way his gaze was probably falling to the floor. “But, um, that’s not… all I wanted to say.”

In the distance you could see Kageyama and Hinata peeking their heads out of the clubroom, freezing the moment they saw you were still standing outside the gym. You shot back a glare and held it until they retreated, closing the door behind them.

“What’s up then?” You prompted him.

“I, might… have a day off of work this weekend. If you’d like to, perhaps, meet up?” Asahi finally managed to ask. You could practically envision the way he struggled with forming questions, how he would open and close his hand, grasping for words. “I know preliminaries just finished, if you’re able to spare the time, I’d like that.”

“Sunday work for you?” There was a pause, a very strong and sudden one. It was as if he hadn’t expected that response at all.

“Y-Yeah! That’d be great! I, um, I’ll text you with the time later, i-if that’s okay?” He was stuttering more than usual.

Your eyes travelled to the clubroom again, far too aware that Kageyama and Hinata still hadn’t left.

“Sounds great. Talk to you later, Azumane. I’ve got some second years to scold, bye~!”

 

* * *

Asahi wouldn’t have outwardly admitted it, although you could tell from a mile away; He was nervous around you. He always was, since day one when you referred to him with his given name. At first he wondered if he  _ was _ just some huge wimp, scared of your very presence. Unfortunately as time went on, he only grew more and more anxious and found himself tensing up instinctively around you.  
But there was always a warmth to it. There was something that was unlike the cold and chilling fear of anxiety and trauma. The hollowness he felt when alone was suddenly filled when you would speak words of kindness and comfort.

Although perplexed by it, if only because of the odd collection of side effects, Asahi was becoming quite certain he harbored feelings towards you. The questions was: how much?  
The answer was never more clear than when he stood at your door, early morning Sunday, and you opened it.

He hadn’t seen you in six months or so, not since he graduated. Well, full disclosure, he was every once in awhile sent a picture or two from Suga that usually had you in it, but pictures hardly did justice. You were radiant.  
His heartbeat went through the roof as you smiled up at him, bag slung over your shoulder and wearing an adorable outfit.

“Azumane! It’s awesome to see you!” You cheered aloud.

“You can, um… call me Asahi. Everyone at this point kind of does.” He chuckled lightly, to which you eagerly nodded.

“Sure! Oh gosh, do you remember when we first met?” You started laughing, a hand gently settled on your stomach as you recalled his expression from that first encounter. It was adorable, though if you said that aloud, you wondered if he’d faint.

“No need to remind me.” He simply stated back, a meek smile forcing its way through.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just, really funny. I felt like a complete idiot not realizing it was your given name!”

“You felt like an idiot? I made a fool of myself not being able to respond!” His eyes widened. “I don’t think Nishinoya is going to let me live that down!”

“Maybe not! But maybe that’ll make it less embarrassing someday!” You grinned, taking lead and finally directing the two of you away from your home. There was a cafe in town, a small family-owned one that you had always wanted to try. Asahi had suggested it the other day, remembering you had mentioned it sometime last year. It was sweet just how long his memory lasted, but clearly it was a side effect to the anxiety.

“I don’t see how a constant reminder is going to make it any better.”

“You get used to it, eventually. Speaking of Noya, have you spoken to him recently?” The air outside was pleasant, despite it being the end of summer.

“Hm, yeah. We text, but I don’t have much free time to spend with old team members, sadly…”

“Sooo…” You trailed off, not sure if he’d be comfortable with the question you were about to ask.

“So?” He eyed you warily, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“So, uh… why are you spending your day off with me?”

“Oh.” Asahi quickly moved his eyes forward, head ducking down. “You’re a bit… different.”

“Different?” Your interest was piqued now as you smirked up at him.

“Not! Not different, really, just I meant that, kind of! Well!” He was floundering, a cute blush spreading on his cheeks. With a deep breath he reattempted from the beginning. “I just meant I wanted to spend in-person time with you, if that’s… not too weird or anything.”

“It’s nice.” You assured him, perhaps taking another step closer to his side. “I’m glad you called.”

 

* * *

The cafe was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday morning. There was only an old couple seated somewhere in the back, and a few girls seated together in one of the booths. An electric fan lazily spun in the center of the space, pushing around the oddly cool air from outside as you and Asahi entered the building. The walk was a bit further than you were used to, but if Asahi could walk all the way to your home and then to the cafe, you could suck it up, injury or not.

“Here you are…” Said the waitress as she set down your orders and departed. You had ordered a cocoa and some macaroons. Asahi on the other hand had a cup of coffee with a small pastry that was apparently western-inspired. You hadn’t caught the name.

“How’s the team?” Asahi finally asked after a moment. Your gaze landed on him, cup brought up to your mouth. The sight alone made Asahi want to confess his feelings and true motives right on the spot, but his anxiety held him back as he awaited your response.

“Looking good, honestly. Ennoshita’s started to settle into the position of Captain, and I think Tanaka was a good choice as his Vice-Captain. Hinata’s not so happy to still be a Middle Blocker, but I think he understands. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are melding into the group better, whether they’ve noticed or not. Although Tsukishima’s still riling up the new first years.”

“That sounds about right. He’s still a smartass then?”

“I don’t think he’ll ever stop.” You sighed, gently setting your cup down. “But he listens to instructions, and that’s about all I can ask of him. Plus he wants to win, there’s no denying that and--- you’re kind of staring at me heavily, is there something on my face?” Your words caught him off guard.

“No! No, no, no, sorry! I was just…” He was staring. That part was certainly true, but he figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. “It’s nice seeing you again. Getting to hear you talk.”

“Oh!” You were definitely starting to warm up, and not just because of the cocoa. “I’m… really glad. I’ve missed you. So uh, why don’t you tell me about work?”

“What’s there to tell?” Asahi chuckled, the kind that seemed to reverberate through his entire body. “Oh, I guess I should mention one of the old Aoba Johsai players works at the same place.”

“What! No way!” You nearly spat out your drink, not sure why he would wait with information like that.

“Yeah, ummm… Mastukawa? I think? He only just started, plus he’s part time. He actually asked about you the one time we talked.”

“Is that what got you to call me?” You asked with a raised brow and smirk. Asahi didn’t seem to take that as a joke, looking like someone just punched him in the gut.

“What?! No! Of course not! I called because I wanted to, I swear!”

“Calm down, it’s fine!” You laughed heartily, a hand going to cover your mouth. “I was just teasing, oh my gosh.”

“Please don’t do that again…”

 

* * *

Outside, clouds began to form, the air growing thicker with moisture. You hardly noticed however, enjoying a nice stroll with the former Ace, who still found himself staring intently at your face every time you spoke of the shenanigans the team got caught up in. He admittedly missed being part of a team, but at the same time was glad future generations would have the same experience as he had. Well, maybe not the exact same, seeing as he quite for quite some time, but at least most of the good times.  
And there were a lot of those.

 

_ “Please don’t forget about us.” _

 

He carried what you said with him, all through those six months where he hadn’t called. He never forgot, not once, even if it didn’t seem like it.  
Truthfully, he wouldn’t have blamed you for not wanting to see him, but then again… you weren’t like that.  
You were easily the kind of person someone could come back to time and time again and you would always welcome them with open arms.

“--so of course, Noya tackles Tanaka to the ground and there’s rice everywhere, the dog’s still stuck in the pillow fort and---” You had been in the middle of a story when Asahi stopped walking, bringing your attention back towards him. “Something the matter?” You asked with patient eyes. Those eyes… always those eyes staring at him as if nothing else mattered in that exact moment.

“I think… I think I need to tell you something.” Asahi whispered, his eyebrows furrowing. The intensity of his voice had you nervous, but you stood your ground.

“If you do, then I’m listening.”

The atmosphere changed as Asahi began to hold his breath. That moment in time, no matter how anxiety inducing it was, he needed to cherish it and remember it. Whether it be for two or three or twenty years. The small pocket of time before he decided to say what was weighing heavily on his heart for over a year. Just as he went to open his mouth, though, thunder rolled in the distance, and a flash of light had both of you looking toward the horizon; A series of hills of grass, lightning dancing along its surface far off.  
Next, rain drew closer, until it was all around, beating down on your heads like a sudden wake up call.

“G-Gah!” Asahi yelped, pulling up his jacket to cover himself, only to remove it a second later and drape it over your body. “W-We should get out of here!” He shouted above the roar of the water. You simply nodded, but he could have sworn he heard a light giggle under all the noise.

The two of you ran for awhile, probably only getting more drenched than if you had walked, but soon enough you found your way to under a few thick trees. The rain trickled between the branches, easing up to a light drizzle underneath their protection. Asahi sighed as he leaned against the middle tree’s trunk and watched the blur of motion that surrounded.

“Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen!” You laughed again, loud and full of life as you clung to the jacket the former Ace had given you before. Despite all of the water, it still smelled of him when you pulled it close. You sat down at the base of the tree, fingers running through your damp hair. “So much for clear skies all day, huh?”

“Yeah.” Asahi chuckled deeply and slid down to join you. The sight was peaceful even with the prior panic. “Sorry, this, uh, this wasn’t exactly how I wanted this to go.”

“Whattya mean?” You asked, turning your head to look up at him. He shrugged weakly, as if trying to move past his remark. “You had said you wanted to tell me something earlier, right?”

“U-Um! Yeah, but… well… I dunno.” He pouted, bringing his knees up to his chest. There was something adorable to the pose. “I lost my nerve…” He admitted meekly.

“Lemme know if you get it back, Asahi.” You teased, but allowed silence to fall over the two of you. He narrowed his eyes sadly. That was his chance and yet… he was blowing it. Except…

“You’re always so patient with me.”

“Of course I am.” Was your response back.

“I feel like… maybe… while you were working hard to overcome your fear… I’ve been doing nothing.” Asahi’s voice was barely above a whisper and you had to strain to hear him.

“Maybe. So why don’t you try and work on it?”

“It isn’t that easy!” He insisted back. Maybe he was genuine about that, but you couldn’t help but find humor in his excuse.

“That’s what you  _ always _ say.” You shot back with a chuckle. “But you don’t know until you give it an honest shot, right?”

Right there, you had done it again.  
You stole his heart in the most simple ways, just giving your pleasant advice, exuding a calm and understanding aura that slowly became infectious over time. Even if internally you were freaking out, you never let it show.

“I-I know this isn’t what I wanted to happen.” Asahi began, straightening up his posture. “And maybe this isn’t how you wanted it to happen either, but!”

“But?” You prompted him.

“But… I know for certain I’m falling for you. And I’ve missed you so much these past six months that I never meant to be away for.” He turned to stare at you, face full of determination. The only other times you had seen such an expression was during important volleyball matches. Then his words hit you like a jolt of electricity.

_ He was falling for me? _ You wondered internally.

“Wh… what?” You breathed, staring back with wide, uncertain eyes. His face grew warm and it took all of the little its of courage he had saved up to continue forward.

“You understand me better than anyone has, or, I guess, at least you’ve given it an effort. You make me want to try harder… so I’m trying right now.” His voice grew softer as his sentence went on, until slowly, all too slowly, he leaned forward and gently laid a kiss on your cheek. Without thinking, you reached a hand out to the back of his neck and brought his face close again before he could pull away. You paused, just for a beat, and fluttered your eyes closed as you softly kissed his lips.  
The entire moment was tender.

The two of you stayed under those trees for another half hour, until the rain let up just enough for you to make it back to the cafe. You arrived soaked to the bone, but a second helping of hot cocoa was just what you had needed.

"Did you want to finish that story from earlier?" Asahi asked as you slid into your booth.

"Oh! Right! So the dog's still trapped in the pillow fort and Ennoshita comes in carrying that dinosaur mask from earlier, right?"

And as you sat in the same exact spots, same exact drinks (this time warming you from the inside out), you found yourself falling even harder than before for the glass hearted goof named Asahi Azumane.


	24. A Little Bit In Love (Sugawara Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gravity by Sara Bareilles
> 
> “Oh, you loved me cause I’m fragile,  
> When I thought that I was strong.  
> But you touch me for a little while,  
> And all my fragile strength is gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sORRY FOR THE DELAY ON THIS!  
> I've been house sitting and doing stuff with friends so I have been busy ;;v;;  
> Hopefully this was?? worth the wait??? eh  
> We're slowly getting to the character endings I've had written in my head for eternity so those should go smoother

“That’s it for today, guys, let’s clean up!” Ennoshita shouted over the sound of serves in the gymnasium. You and the rest of the team called back before all of the team members scuttered about to clean up the balls and put away the supplies.

“Good work today, Captain.” You gave his a cheesy salute, one that he rolled his eyes at.

“It’s still weird to get used to that, just call me by my name, please.” Ennoshita chuckled, accepting the towel you offered up. Allowing his shoulders to slump, he wiped at his face and looked out to the team. “Our new first-years are pretty good, but I can’t help but miss Daichi and the others.”

“Yeah.” You smiled at the sentiment. “Well of course---”

“Manager! There’s someone here to see you!” Yamaguchi called for you, just in front of the gym’s entryway with a smile on his face.

You let out a small sigh, knowing exactly who it was. “He’s not just here to see me, goodness.”

“Oh, he definitely is.” Ennoshita patted your shoulder, walking off to talk to Tanaka. Not having anything else to do within the confines of the gym, you tucked your manager’s notebook under your arm and went to head outside. You weren’t that far into the school year, the air still brisk during the nighttime. So as you stepped outside and shivered, a voice got your attention.

“Need to borrow my jacket?” Sugawara smiled at you, already moving to remove his outermost layer.

You brought up a hand and waved away the thought. “No, I’m fine! Once I change I’ll warm up!” You insisted.

That was already the third time Sugawara had visited the club after school. He had no weekend classes at university and often made the five hour travel back to Miyagi to see his family and his old classmates. That was when the recurring joke began, that he was just there to see you. It was true he always took the time to walk you home, but he always made time to chat with everyone.

“If you’re sure. How’s the team looking?” His hands dropped from his clothing and found their way into his pockets.

“Quite good, actually. I think there’s a couple first-years that’ll do good on the starting line-up.” You glanced inside your notebook and smiled fondly. Suga nodded at that, taking a couple steps closer. You didn’t say anything about the motion. “Daichi joined the university team, right?”

“Mhm.” Sugawara hummed his affirmation. “He’s actually considering a position change. I think it might be good for him and it’ll help solidify a spot on the team for him, you know?”

“Suga!” Tanaka’s booming voice suddenly came from your left as the vice-captain practically leapt out the door. Soon after, Nishinoya followed, grinning up a storm.

“Hey guys!” With a wave, Sugawara greeted them.

“What’s this about Daichi changing positions?” Tanaka asked, hands on his hips.

“He’s considering becoming a Libero, since the university already has a lot of wing-spikers.”

“He’d be great at that!” Nishinoya cheered. “Let him know I’ll give private lessons ahahaha!”

“I’ll be sure to pass the message along.” Sugawara assured with a laugh.

“I’m going to go change, be back in a bit.” You gestured towards the clubrooms, earning a nod or word of acknowledgement from the group of guys. With that settled, you headed off, listening to their continued conversation until you were too far away. It was nice seeing Sugawara still a part of the team in his own small way. He always made time to come visit and you knew you’d find him and Daichi at your next game, without a doubt.

Sugawara was always a supportive figure in the group, and half the reason Ennoshita wasn’t faulting as Captain yet was because of that persistent reassurance from the old vice-captain. That alone left you appreciative beyond words.

As you returned, it seemed Nishinoya and Tanaka had left, to be replaced by an overly excited Hinata and the much more quiet duo of Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

“Will you come to the inter-high!?” Hinata suddenly shouted, but you noticed Sugawara’s eyes on your approach.

“Of course! And I’ll be sure to drag Daichi along, too.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to drag him.” You offered up with a slightly smile.

“Maybe not.” He shrugged at that.

Glancing between the two of you, Yamaguchi frowned and tugged on Hinata’s sleeve. “We should probably go change, guys.”

“But I want to talk to Sugawara more.” Hinata vocally complained. Tsukishima simply glared at the other middle blocker and began to walk away towards the clubroom.

“Um, goodnight guys! Good work today!” You called to them as they left. Yamaguchi gave you a wide grin and nodded.

“So. Would you like some company home?” Sugawara smiled at you, a different smile than he used with the other members of the team. It made you blush just at the sight of it. While you were certainly in denial about the ex-setter harboring any feelings for you, you weren’t one to deny your own feelings towards him.

“I’d love that!” You blurted out perhaps too quickly. He seemed to find amusement in it, though and let out his most beautiful laugh. Tucking your head down as to avoid him catching how red your face is, you began walking forward, grip on your bag tightened. Why did he have to be so cute?

 

* * *

“You’re shivering again.” He stated, just a few minutes into the walk. Ukai’s family shop was just coming up on the left of you.

“Forgot my gloves today.” You admitted meekly, rubbing your hands together in a small attempt to substitute the lack of cloth. Suga frowned, eyeing you with concern. He was always noticing everything, and it made you a bit on edge around him. Not in a bad way, of course, but in that ‘oh gosh please don’t notice how in love with you I am’ kind of way.

“Here.” He suddenly held out his hand to you. There was a moment where you froze, uncertain what he meant and definitely not wanting to read the situation wrong. He chuckled, shaking his head. “Take the glove, put it on your right hand.”

“O-Oh. What about---”

“Hurry up, you don’t need frozen fingers right now.” At his insistence, you shyly removed the glove from his hand and wiggled it onto your right. Just making contact with him had you flustered. “There.” Now he gripped your left hand in his right.  
It was warm, as was your face.

“S-Suga?” You quietly asked, looking over to his unchanged, but pleasant expression.

“It’s just efficient.” He explained, not looking away from the street. “How was school today?”

The fact that he could carry on in normal conversation while holding your hand was making your head spin. Sugawara was always the kind to stand much closer to you than everyone else, but that was next level. Still, you didn’t want to falter at such a simple gesture and made do, continuing the small talk as best you could. Eventually, it felt normal, and you began to find comfort in the walk home.

“This is my turn.” You suddenly brought up, pointing towards the alleyway with your one gloved hand.

“Mhm.” Sugawara hummed, not letting go of you.

“... Suga?”

“I’m not going to make you walk all the way home in the cold.” He finally explained. The way he smiled seemed… shy, almost. Like maybe, just maybe, this situation had him as giddy and anxious as yourself. “Lead the way, Manager.” He winked, short circuiting your brain.

You fumbled with your words for a bit, one of his eyebrows raising in questioning amusement. “S-Sure! Okay. Um, yeah.” You gave a firm nod and began to direct him through the alleyway. Nerve-wracking was one word for it, but Sugawara loved that you were so flustered, if only because he was the only cause of it.

All this time, without your knowing about it, he had been trying to give way to the others to have a chance with you. Of course, when he confronted a few of them, they assured they weren’t going to do anything about it. With that newfound information, Sugawara had no choice. He was a bit in love with you, in love with your laugh and in love with your kindness.  
Was he the first to realize it? First to feel the way he had about you from the moment you became a caretaker of the group?

“Thank you, Suga.” You mumbled gently, voice almost inaudible even in the quiet of the night. He squeezed your hand, having no ability to speak. His voice would have surely cracked had he tried.

 

* * *

“You could just ask them out, you know.” Daichi deadpanned, eyeing his friend with a look of irritance. Sugawara peered up from his lightly touched lunch and frowned.

“I don’t want to make them uncomfortable.” He insisted, but it was an excuse Daichi had heard a million times. “I like what we have now… And I don’t want to just… ruin any chance for the others.”

Daichi groaned, taking another bite of his rice. “You’re being ridiculous. You don’t always have to put others before you, you know that, right? Be selfish for once. If you love them, then it’s your job to not let that go to waste. Even if they’re not interested, which I will say sounds  _ impossible _ , they’re not the kind to want nothing to do with you after.”

“... I guess.” Sugawara muttered, slumping forward on the table.

“No, not ‘I guess’. I’m  _ sure _ , and somewhere deep down you’re sure, too. You’re already making all this time to visit them every couple of weeks. Hell, you guys  _ held hands _ . It’s just one more step to confession.” Daichi waved his chopsticks around his whole speech, flinging a few pieces of rice towards his friend.

Sugawara laughed, picking a piece off of him. “Alright, alright. Thanks, Dad.”

“Stop that.”

“Stop what, dad?”

“ _ Suga _ .”

 

* * *

All of that was easier said than done. While Sugawara was consistently the one pushing boundaries and trying to be closer with you, he also enjoyed that it was done so without anything new. No titles or words that could mess up the dynamic, just being near you and holding your hand. Which, yes, he held it again next time he saw you.  
He was still hesitating to confess, but every time he visited, he noticed the team becoming more and more aware of his feelings towards you. Small gestures of leaving the two of you alone, of Tanaka and Nishinoya keeping a bit more of a distance from you, of teasing him that he was obviously there to see you. All of it together, he took as a sign that they were ready to let you go, for whatever reason.

“They’re happiest with you.” Ennoshita brought up one day, watching you head off towards the clubroom. “I think everyone’s just glad to see them smile so much.”

At first, Sugawara had no response to that. He simply stared at the ground, paying a peculiar amount of attention to the way the dirt cracked up. Finally, he inhaled deeply, earning Ennoshita’s attention. “I’m in love with them.” He stated. While it seemed trivial to anyone, it was the first time he really truly could say it aloud.

“Take good care of them, alright? They’re our precious manager.” Ennoshita responded with a gentle smile. “But you already know that.”

 

* * *

You and Sugawara were walking home again, and although it wasn’t nearly as cold as the start of the year, he still managed to hold your hand. You weren’t about to complain, throat too unsteady to say anything, honestly.

“Do you remember when you first came to practice?” He suddenly asked, catching you off guard. Why was he bringing that up?

“U-Um. Yeah, I do. Really vividly, actually.” You admitted with a chuckle. You had been so scared that day, unsure of your feelings towards the sport and towards your past. You briefly glanced down to your leg, smiling at how little it hindered you emotionally anymore.

“I remember when you received that stray ball from Tanaka.” Sugawara grinned at that thought, grip on your hand tightening. “I was really amazed, actually. I knew from that second that you were more in love with the sport than you let on.”

“Yeah… sorry I was so…“ So what? What was the right word for something like that?

“Fragile.” Sugawara offered up. “You were like… made of glass. Just talking to you the first time, I could tell you were seconds away from running out of there. I guess instinctively, I wanted to help you.”

“Pffft. Well, we saw where that lead.” You reminded him, knowing full well that he was first to look up your name and accidentally allow everyone to know your secret. He seemed to falter at that, sputtering out some apologies. “I already told you I forgave you for that. I needed the push, in some way.” With a shrug you stared forward at the road ahead.

“I still didn’t have the right to do that.”

“Maybe so.”

“And really… “ He nervously cleared his throat. “At the time I hadn’t realized exactly why I did what I did. It only became clear right after that, before it was just… speculation.” Letting out a shaky breath, he found that you were looking up at him again.

“Is something the matter, Suga?” Every time you said his name, he could feel his heart rate shoot up.

“Nothing, actually.” He turned to stare down at you, eyes filled with admiration and warmth. “Hey… you said once that I did my job. That I returned to you the feelings that volleyball once gave you… is that still true?”

“Huh?” You balked at that, stopping for a moment. Sugawara stopped, too, but his grip remained on your hand. “Of course! I’ve! I’ve never been happier.”

“... I’m glad.” He smiled, a whole new kind of smile that you had never seen before. You hadn’t thought that was possible. “I have something to tell you, actually…”

“What’s that?”

“Every second I was working towards returning those feelings to you…” He paused, swallowing nervously. “I didn’t realize it, but you were giving me feelings, too.”

“...H...Huh?” You breathed out, eyes widening. What was he saying? Was he actually… was this… was he?

“I’ve fallen in love with you. After everything… I realized why I acted so ridiculous and stupid… because I wanted to make you happier more than anyone else.” His face was clearly red, even in the dimness of the night. “You don’t… you don’t have to say anything, but… I dunno, I guess I just needed you to know.”

Your eyes couldn’t have been any wider, tears forming at the edges. Your heart rate could be heard in your ears as they, too, burned with an overwhelming amount of emotions. Of course you loved him, too.

“Me… Me too.” You whispered, nodding furiously in just another moment. “Me too, Suga!”

“God I love the way you say my name.” Sugawara grinned, suddenly unable to contain his excitement. He leaned forward, letting go of your hand just to place both of them on either side of your face and placed many kisses to your forehead. “You’re amazing!” He said, pausing his motions for only a second before continuing. You were a giggly mess.

“S-Suga, please!” You laughed, your own hands loosely gripped to his arms. Again, he stopped, grinning at you.

“I love you.” He stated again, much gentler. Before you could say it back, he slowly moved forward and his lips found yours. It was a moment out of a movie, where the guy you always had eyes for finally made his move, and your heart could never have felt much lighter. His lips were soft, motions slow and meaningful. Like, every feeling he ever had for you was now placed into this one kiss.

After what felt like forever, he pulled back, emotion evident in his eyes. He again took your hand in his and giddily lead you home, no more words needing to be said between the two of you, just another moment of comfort in each other’s presence.


	25. Slow Burn (Tsukishima Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pardon Me by He Is We
> 
> “It’s my fault and I know it,  
> And I tend to blow it,  
> No thanks to you.  
> It’s like you sit and you watch me,  
> You poke and you taunt me,  
> It’s all that you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many apologies in a row until I sound like a broken record ;v;???  
> Writing these endings is kind of difficult but I'm!!!! really getting to the ones where I know what I wanna write ahahaaa
> 
> Sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy regardless and look forward to Yamaguchi's which is next :' D
> 
> (Doubly sorry for the weird?? posting time?? it's 10:40pm here ;v;)

Kei Tsukishima didn’t show emotional vulnerability quite like most people did.  
In fact, he tried incredibly hard to never let those watching know how he felt. That, of course, included you. But over time you had picked up on one knowing tell; Just one phrase he’d let slip on occasion that gave away everything.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…” A first year brought up one day, watching as you and Ennoshita joked back and forth in the distance. “Are the captain and manager dating?”

“Huh?” Yamaguchi sputtered for a moment, taken aback by the sudden question directed at him, as if he would know in the first place. Before he could stumble out some sort of answer, however, his friend had already taken lead for him.

“No.” Tsukishima spat. Simple and to the point, earning a couple looks from the surrounding teammates.  
That wasn’t too unusual. There were times when you were near as well, when people would gossip about the relationship between you and Ennoshita. It always seemed to set Tsukishima on edge and he always supplied the answer, as if directed towards him. As if it somehow affected him.

You’d have been lying to say you hadn’t noticed it, or the way he stopped contesting your joining him and Yamaguchi on the walk home. Really, you’d be lying to say you hadn’t formed some sort of feelings towards him. It wasn’t something you noticed immediately, not when you were too concerned with keeping the team going and not getting in a verbal fight with him every few days.  
There was a moment in time, though, where your view of him began to shift, if only bit by bit.

That match with Shiratorizawa.  
Seeing and sifting beyond all his layers of smug, smartassery; there was someone who truly cared when he wanted to. Someone you found charming in the right lighting and kind in the right setting.

“Pffft, really?” You balked as Yamaguchi admitted first years were gossiping about you again. “Jeez, you’d think they’ve never seen best friends before. I almost feel like I have to make some announcement or something.” You were joking, but an odd seriousness fell over Tsukishima as the three of you walked home that evening.

“I’ll just keep telling them ‘no’.” He stated, matter of fact.

You blinked a few times, wondering what spurred him to react in such a way. “Tsukishi---”

“Don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s none of their business anyway.”

That was the key, the small glimmer of emotions hidden under his exterior. It was the same thing he told you back during that week of Tokyo Training when he allowed you (or moreso forced you) to rest your head on his shoulder.

_ “Tsukishima! Your hand!” _

_ "Don’t make a big deal out of it.” _

And what he told you when he saw how concerned you were for his injury at the Shiratorizawa match. It’s what he always said when Yamaguchi embarrassed him or when one of his teammates complimented him. It was a sure sign you were affecting him, even in small ways.  
You took comfort in that, smiling to yourself as your initial remark faded away, leaving you in silence.

 

* * *

“Hello?” You had picked up your phone rather late at night, eyes still glued to the pages of your notebook as you scrambled to study for your quiz the next day. Truth be told, you hadn’t looked at the caller ID (incredibly rare for you) so you felt a twist of anxiety in your stomach just before the caller spoke.

“Hey, country kid.”

“Augh. Kuroo, please. That’s still terrible.” You instinctively narrowed your eyes despite the other person not being there.

He let out a small, wheezy chuckle. “Okay, okay. Thought maybe giving you a few months would let the name grow on you, but I see my talents are still going unrecognized.”

“I do  _ not _ have the energy for this, what the heck are you calling for at this hour?”

“Oof. Harsh.” He paused, almost like he was waiting for your response, but seemed to think better of it after another moment. “I know this might be weird, but I’m co-hosting a party this next weekend at some beach house.”

“Co-hosting?” You found yourself asking. “Who’s the other hoster?”

“Bokuto.”

“I’m not surprised.” You said with little humor.

Another chuckle earned your attention as you could hear Kuroo shifting around. “Anyways, not important. I’m trying to invite you to a fun time, just let me get to that.”

“I feel like you just did.” You pointed out.

“Smartass.” He remarked. “Just say that you’ll go?”

“Kuroo---”

“You can invite any of those crows that you want, come onnn!” His whining was made only more effective as he plopped forward onto what sounded to be his bed.

“Who would I even invite to a  _ college party. _ ” You said, laughing the whole time at his ridiculous antics.

“Tsukishima, maybe.” It was as if you could  _ hear _ his shrug, but along with it, a knowing smirk. You felt your face heat up as you hesitated, running through scenarios of what you could say. “Oooo, right on the nail, huh?”

“Shut up.” You managed, although you knew he wouldn’t.

“Invite him then! He could use a party, something to make him lighten up a bit.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“Make it happen, pal. I’ll text you the details.”

 

* * *

And that was exactly how you found yourself on a train to Tokyo with you small group of people you chose to invite: Ennoshita, Yamaguchi, and of course, Tsukishima. The fact that you had convinced him to come was a miracle in itself, but you were secretly delighted, having been sat between him and Ennoshita for the majority of the ride there.

“If Bokuto comes anywhere near me, I’m out.” He joked, his freckled friend snickering beside him.

“What about Kuroo or Akaashi?” You genuinely wondered, remembering the time back in Tokyo last year.

“Kuroo only gets one sentence.” He shot back within the second. “Is Akaashi even going to be there?”

“Mhm. He texted me asking if I was coming just last night.” That statement seemed to clam Tsukishima right up. He hadn’t even given any acknowledgement that he heard you in the first place. You could feel Ennoshita’s gaze shift onto you and you shrugged weakly, trying not to brush against Tsukishima’s shoulder.

Kuroo had insisted you texted him the moment you arrived, so with phone in hand as the four of you walked up to the beach house, you hardly had time to look up when your name was being shouted. Bokuto came barreling down the beach and in the blink of an eye, you were being lifted by the waist up into the air. Damn, Bokuto was strong.

“I’m so glad you could make it! Kuroo wouldn’t stop talking about how you were going to come!” Admist the laughing and struggling in his grip, you hardly noticed Tsukishima averting his eyes as he moved past the scene. Yamaguchi looked hesitantly between the two areas before jogging to catch up with the tall boy, their shoes leaving prints in the sand. “Huh? Guess they want to get inside already.”

Now on the ground, you peered behind Bokuto towards your two friends walking away. Tsukishima was acting odd… more distant than he usually was with you. Or rather, he was his usual distant self if you had rewinded more than a year back.  
What had gotten into him?

Inside: The party was already going strong.  
You had allowed Bokuto to lead Ennoshita and yourself there as he busied himself with explaining where everything was and even reminding you both that Daichi and Sugawara were around somewhere. Ennoshita’s excitement piqued at that, although he promised not to ditch you until you figured out where the other two had wandered off to.

“Don’t you think Tsukishima is acting a bit weird?” You asked, voice strained only slightly due to the music playing in some room a bit away.

Ennoshita shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I don’t think it’s my place to say.”

“So you have an idea why, then?”

“... Maybe.” He coughed gently, eyeing the crowds that formed in each separate space. There weren’t too many familiar faces, although you caught a glimpse of Akaashi in a corner far off. “He’s not that close to a lot of people.”

“No kidding.” You deadpanned, reaching for a bottle of water on the drinks table.

“But he likes you.”

That made you pause as you went to open your drink. “Maybe.” You found yourself repeating Ennoshita’s earlier indifference.

“A lot of people do. I don’t think he knows how to handle that.”

“Are you calling me popular?” You found yourself joking, an eager attempt to alleviate the strain and stress of the moment. There was no reason to be so worked up, but you couldn’t deny that Tsukishima seemed to shy away from you when you brought up other people.

Ennoshita lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Hey, isn’t it kind of weird… you’re probably the next closest to him after Yamaguchi and he still won’t let you call him Tsukki.”

“That implies I’m trying to call him that.” You shot back after a swig of water. “That’s his and Yamaguchi’s thing, it doesn’t mean anything. One name doesn’t really carry that much more of a meaning than another.”

“Well the least he could do is let you call him  _ something. _ ”

 

* * *

Finding Tsukishima was no easy task, as he was in the last place you expected him, somehow.  
Outside, overlooking the ocean as he leaned forward over the balcony. It was sunset and if you hadn’t been irritated with his rushing off before, you’d have said he looked nice like that, bathed in the orange glow and shimmers of the ocean. Fuck. Okay so maybe he did still look pretty good. You weren’t going to admit it, though, not really.

“It’s a nice view, huh?” You saw him jump at your greeting, but his eyes never left their position.

“Hm.” He hummed in agreement.

You moved to join him, gently placing both hands on the railing and gripping. The breeze was pleasant and you hadn’t been to the beach in forever. “Where’s Yamaguchi?” You decided to ask, despite the burning questions you had.

“Inside. He found Sugawara a bit ago.” Tsukishima replied flatly. His glasses were sliding down his nose and you had to resist the urge to push them up for him. Almost like he was reading your mind, he dared a glance to his right and with his left hand, raised his frames back to their original position. “Where’s Ennoshita?”

“Probably the same place.” You answered with a chuckle. “He only promised to hang around until I found you.”

“So you were looking for me?” Tsukishima asked, his usually stoic face now donning a smirk Kuroo would be proud of. Oh right. Kuroo. You had never texted him. Oops.

Apparently you were thinking too hard, because Tsukishima dropped that amusement and went right back to staring blandly at the ocean. “Sorry,” You muttered on impulse. “But, uh, hey! Wanna hear something dumb Ennoshita said.”

“Not particularly.”

“Well suck it up, I’m telling you anyway.” You stuck your tongue out at him, an action that surprisingly earned you another glint of amusement to his expression. “He’s decided since we’re  _ so close _ ,” You made sure to emphasize that declaration in a humorous manner, as to not spook him. “I should be allowed to call you Tsukki. Of course, I was like ‘nah’ cause that’s Yamaguchi’s thing.”

Tsukishima looked irritated, but it was a vast improvement to disinterested. “Is that so?” His voice was laced with venom, as if frustrated that the captain brought it up at all.

“Yeah.” You chuckled nervously. “I told him name’s didn’t really matter. But he’s insisting that I should call you something other than your surname.”

“Then call me Kei.” There was a moment, a solid beat of what felt like an unreal realm that you had stepped into.

You whipped your head towards him in disbelief, eyes widened. You looked for any sign, any bit of teasing held somewhere on his expression, but instead you were met with an oddly genuine gaze. There was even a flush of pink to the tips of his ears that you had to rationalize as tones reflected off the water. “U-Um---”

“You don’t have to make a big deal out of it.” And that was when you knew he was serious. A slight moment of emotional vulnerability. “You don’t have to, though… if you don’t want to.”

“No!” You were blurting out without much thought. “No, I’d really like to! Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me, that’s just weird.” He muttered, his head ducking down if only a little.

“Well!” You huffed, turning away from him to save both of you the embarrassment. “Maybe I’m just weird!”

“You really are. What the hell is wrong with you?” He asked, but you couldn’t deny the chuckle at his question.

 

* * *

“Oh my gosh, finally!” Yamaguchi practically shouted.

The two of you were sitting in your kitchen, studying cast aside (since really it was just an excuse to hang out without your mother coming in and making jokes) long ago. You had just openly admitted for the first time that you might harbor feelings for Tsukishima, and apparently that was just what Yamaguchi was waiting for.

“Huh?” You breathed out in question.

“I’m just, I’m! Really glad one of you admitted it.” He shrank back down in his chair meekly. “I’ve been trying to get you guys together for like, like, a year now!” Again, he threw his hands in the air and then sputtered at his realization that he was shouting.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Come again?” Your face was flushed red, eye brows knit in confusion.

He took a deep breath, turning towards you. “Remember? That walk home where I left you guys alone cause I had to go to lessons with Shimada?”

“I… guess?”

He gestured vaguely, until you began to put two and two together. In fact, he hadn’t stopped there. No, instead he continued going, listing off time after time that he had been attempting to improve relations between yourself and Tsukishima.  
 _Kei_. You reminded yourself internally. Oh god that just set off another wave of flustered energy to your face, even if you hadn’t used it more than once or twice.

“Tsukki… he won’t admit it yet.” Yamaguchi’s face suddenly sank, much like his body had before. “I’m not sure if he can, actually.” There was a breathy chuckle to his statement, but it felt bittersweet. You wondered if there was some hidden meaning to his words.

“So…?” You asked nervously. His eyes found their way to you quickly. “What are you saying?”

“Well, uh…” He fidgeted with his hands for a moment. It clearly meant he was hesitating, choosing his words carefully. “Tsukki, uh… he isn’t… he doesn’t have a lot of people he trusts… not like he does you and I.” You saw him swallow. “He doesn’t… well, I don’t  _ think _ he wants to mess that up.”

“... Are you honestly saying I have to make the first move.”

 

* * *

A month had passed since then and you had chosen to mostly ignore Yamaguchi’s constant pestering. He had wanted you to make some big, bold move on Tsukishima, and that simply wasn’t happening. Why were you getting so worked up over that anyway? The Spring Tournament Qualifiers weren’t far off and final exams loomed oppressively in the distance. It just made more sense to ignore whatever it was that was happening.

Still…  
Being around Tsukishima felt warm. The consistent banter and joking taunts were warm. The way he looked after you to be sure you didn’t strain yourself too much was warm.  
But it was becoming too much, and every day the warmth was increasingly into an unbearable burn that stretched across your skin.

“Stop being an idiot.” He said to you as you narrowly escaped a stray ball, too enveloped in your own thoughts. “You’re going to get hurt.”

“Every day is pain when I talk with you.” You shot back, crossing your arms over your chest much like a pouting child. As much as you had appreciated his hidden concern, you also didn’t like him calling you stupid. Who would like that?!

Tsukishima opened his mouth, as if to speak, but froze for a moment. He then clicked his tongue, averting his eyes. There was yet another pause. “You’re impossible.”

“Oh, you’re really one to talk.”

He raised an irritated brow at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the most impossible person I know!” You gaped at him, questioning how he could miss that fact. “How long did it take for you and Kageyama to get even remotely along?”

“That was the king’s fault.” He argued, again missing the point.

“You’re so ridiculous! Why do I even lik---” You slapped a hand over your mouth before you could, you know,  _ blurt out your hidden feelings right then and there _ . “If you’ll excuse me.” It came out shaky, but you still managed, turning on your heel to escape outside the gym.

What you hadn’t expected was for Tsukishima to follow.

“Where are you running off?” He bothered to raise his voice, although his longer strides allowed him to catch up quickly. “What was that you were about to say?” There was obvious amusement in his tone. You could feel the condescending grin he wore.

“Nothing, Tsukishima!” You barked back.

His tone changed after that, but he remained just a step away. “I said you could call me Kei.”

“Yeah! Well! Maybe I don’t want to anymore now that you’ve been an ass.”

“If that were the case, you’d have never said that in the first place. If you somehow haven’t noticed, I’m  _ always _ an ass.”

With a huff, you stopped and reluctantly faced him. “You admitting it doesn’t make it any better.”

Tsukishima shrugged passively. “Whatever.”

“God, I wish you would just shut up sometimes.”

There was something in his eyes, something daring as he spoke his next words. “I’d like to see you make me.”

That caused you to snap and suddenly, you had a fistful of his white T-shirt and were pulling him down to eye level. He seemed to move with the tug without much resistance, although you caught the sight of his eyes wide as you crashed your lips against his. The kiss was sloppy and fierce, but undeniably passionate as you found your other hand grabbing at the fabric as well. Tsukishima never pulled away and you were glad for that.

Until, of course,  _ you _ pulled away, embarrassment attacking every part of your way-too-warm face. Still, you found it in yourself to be satisfied with the look of utter bewilderment on Tsukishima’s own face.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.” You muttered, quoting his usual phrase.

“You--- and--- I---” For once, he was left speechless, forced to swallow hard and restart his sentence. “ _ I wasn’t being serious _ .”

“Oops?” You tilted your head, trying to hide the furious beating of your heart.

“ _ Annoying _ .” He muttered back, eyes narrowed. For a second you wondered if you had messed up; If that wasn’t something he wanted, too. His posture stiffened and you watched as he looked off at the distance. “... Can we do that again?” The question was hardly above a whisper, but you heard regardless.

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. And although he insisted that, too, was annoying, you could see his slight smile through your squinted eyes.  
What an impossible warmth you felt right then.


	26. You Give Me Comfort (Yamaguchi Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I Need by Courage My Love
> 
> “Tell me your secrets,  
> Why you’re so afraid to be alone.  
> Show me your weaknesses,  
> I promise I won’t let you go.  
> Don’t ever wonder if the words I speak are honest.  
> Just promise me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was the definition of "winging it"
> 
> I had.... no idea what I was doing for it, so I'm terribly sorry if that shows in the writing ;v;  
> We got one of two exciting endings next time, though: Either Iwaizumi or Oikawa's  
> I promise the wait won't be as long!!!

It would have been an understatement to call Yamaguchi and yourself close. After everything you had been through with him (Revealing your secret, talking to him at the Tokyo Camp, etc..) you had found yourself with a true friend whom you shared perhaps  _ too _ much with.

“You’re a strong consideration for Captain next year.” You flat out announced to him one overcast morning on the way to school. Tsukishima had some appointment that meant he’d be late to school, so you had easily offered to make the trek with Yamaguchi.

“Wait, what?” He gaped at you. “What, uh… what do you mean?”

“Just what I said.” You chuckled, not all that surprised by his… well, surprise. “I brought it up with the other second-years.”

He considered his responses for a moment, gripping his backpack a bit tighter than usual. “I, um… it means a lot, but I just… don’t believe it.” After his voice trailed, Yamaguchi seemed to jump, whipping his head towards you. “I’m not calling you a liar, I promise! I just--”

“I know, I know.” You waved him off before he could nervously apologize more. “Admittedly, when I brought it up, Kageyama and Hinata voted for themselves at first.”

“I see.”

“But then Tsukishima voted for you.” Giving a glance towards Yamaguchi’s face, you were happy to see the look of joy spreading across his expression. “That got them talking for a bit… and, well, they settled on you being the best choice. So it looks like that’s how it’s going to be.”

That joy seemed to slip from his face, eyes falling back to his feet. “It’s nice that they all believe in me like that, but…”

“But  _ what _ ?” You said with a certain sharpness to your tone. Yamaguchi froze, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at you. He knew exactly what your voice meant. “You’re almost as bad as Ennoshita, I swear…”

“I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to say that.” You gave a shrug and reached for his arm, tugging him forward again towards the school. While the sudden contact had you feeling nervous, you knew it was important so you both didn’t end up late to morning practice. “I think you’ll be an amazing captain, just like Daichi was, and just like Ennoshita has been.”

Yamaguchi audibly exhaled, shaky and unsure. For a second you wondered if you weren’t thorough enough, that maybe you were giving him even more doubts. “If you think so, too, then… “ He trailed off, taking one step closer to your side and making you readjust your grip on his arm. “Maybe… you’re right.”

There was something you had noticed a million times in Yamaguchi. Not the way that his nose crinkled when he laughed, or how he showed genuine and heartfelt concern every time you hurt yourself. No. You always noticed how meek he became once Tsukishima was gone from his side. There was something about Tsukishima that gave his some sort of confidence and strength.  
You could never do that for him, but…  
Maybe, just a bit, you wished you could give him some sort of comfort.

 

* * *

“Do you have any fives?”

“Go fish…” You muttered, staring blankly at the cards in your hands. It was a Saturday night, just a couple weeks away from graduation. You knew you had studying to do, but how could you when stress and anxiety was bubbling inside of you? Sure, you had found a replacement manager, and you weren’t particularly nervous about the tests, but…

“Are you okay?” Your eyes snapped up to find Yamaguchi giving that same look of concern he often wore for you.

“Yeah, yeah!” You lied, scrambling to take your turn. “Um, got any threes?”

Eyeing you warily, Yamaguchi handed you a three, but didn’t return to look at his cards. “We can stop playing… if you want.”

“No, it’s fine!” Apparently the fake-chuckle you gave really wasn’t convincing, cause Yamaguchi was quick to bring all the cards together. “Yams…” You bitterly grumbled.

He shrugged. “If it makes it feel better, we can say you won.” He gave you a small smile, but when your expression didn’t change, he went right back to storing the cards away. After that, he rose from your spot on the floor and gathered materials from his bed. You watched in interest, unsure what he was doing. “Stand up for a second?” Yamaguchi held out a blanket, clearly intending to lay it down where you had been.

“Sure…” You jokingly rolled out of the way, and then finally stood. He laughed at that. “What are you doing?”

Another shrug. “I thought you could use some time to relax. You can lay back down now, if you want.” The blanket had been smoothed out over the wood. It was a cute blanket, just a red plaid pattern, but very soft to the touch.

You did as you were told, mostly, but opted for sitting rather than laying down. Having not much else to do, your eyes followed the taller boy’s movements around his room as he held a bundle of pillows and began to arrange them around you. Finally, he grabbed a second blanket from inside his closet, and stretched on his tiptoes to reach clips on the ceiling.  
Suddenly that second blanket had draped down over you, blocking out the dull light of his desk lamp.

“Where’d you put your laptop?” You could hear from outside of the makeshift blanket fort.

“Um… It should be on your desk.” There was silence for a bit, just the silhouette of Yamaguchi quietly moving about his room. You took a deep breath, closing your eyes and laying back. It was undeniably comfy, but your face was growing warm at the realization of the situation. Yamaguchi had totally just made you a pillow fort, like you were in elementary or something…  
It was… adorable. Not to mention sweet as hell.

Another moment passed and suddenly you could feel the blanket shift as Yamaguchi entered the space, your laptop in hand. “Let’s watch something.” He suggested eagerly, placing the technology just beside you to control.

“I always wondered what those clips in your ceiling were for.” You joked as you retrieved your laptop.

He seemed to get nervous, shoulders tensing as he struggled to sit an appropriate distance away from you. “When Tsukki and I were younger, we used to make forts in the living room, but, um…” His hand found its way to the back of his neck and rubbed shyly. “She didn’t want to put the couch back each time, so she put the clips on my ceiling so we could build them in my room.”

“Adorable.” You laughed, having pulled up an old favorite movie of yours. Your finger hesitated over the play button for what felt like an eternity, until you finally hit it. “I’m going to miss this…” You mumbled, not sure if you wanted Yamaguchi to hear or not.

He scooted closer as you set the laptop down in front of you both. “Miss what?” He asked, clearly having heard.

“This.” You vaguely gestured, not caring that the movie had already begun. “I’m kind of… super scared to graduate…”

“Oh.” He muttered back, scooting closer still. There was a pause, but then he remembered the gesture you had done for him, over a year ago at the Tokyo training camp. With a wobbling hand, he reached out to your hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

You shot up from that, eyes wide and cheeks tinted pink. The sudden movement apparently startled Yamaguchi, too, because he retracted his hand fast as lightning. “Sorry!” You sputtered.

“No! Um!” He stammered a bit, gaze shifting in the opposite direction of you. “That was… sorry, that was kind of, kinda… not the right thing to do, huh?”

“No! I mean--” With an audible smack, you brought your hand up to your face. “Augh. It was fine, I just… I got startled.” The admission was quiet, but if he had heard your earlier whisper, he definitely got that one. He chose not to respond.

It was about halfway through the movie that he decided to speak up again, eyes glued to the screen. “You don’t have to pretend around me… you know?” He whispered, clutching onto a pillow. Your brain had to process through the words, leaving you a speechless mess for a solid moment or two before you could manage much of anything.

“... Okay.”

“Your graduation’s hard on me-- us, too.”

“I know.” You shot back, letting out a single huff. To think he was implying you were only thinking of yourself. That was exactly where a good portion of the stress was coming from! You weren’t sure how you or the others were going to deal with your moving away. It had been bad enough the last year, when Daichi, Suga, and Asahi had to leave, but this… “Will you remember me?”

It was meant to be a bit of a joke, but there was something more real hidden under there. You were a transfer student, you had to remind yourself. It was amazing that the third-years still kept in contact, but you wondered if they felt obligated to some extent.

Before your thoughts could continue, Yamaguchi was suddenly near your face, having rolled over slightly to look into your eyes. “I wouldn’t forget you!” He yelped in shock. “A-And you’ll have to visit or, Um! I guess, maybe I could visit with Tsukki, since your, uh, your schedule… will be… busier… what’s wrong?” His rambling was cut short when he noticed the way you were staring at him.

So, of course, what else could you do in that situation other than kiss him?

It was a short peck on the lips, nothing too telling, but certainly not something he could ignore. After a second or two had passed, Yamaguchi opened his mouth to say something, but you shot up again and pointed to the screen. “Oh look! It’s my favorite part!” It was a lie, but the scene was good nonetheless. Furthermore, the sudden interjection gave Yamaguchi enough anxiety about the scenario that he failed to bring it up at all.

 

* * *

“You kissed him and then didn’t talk about it?” Tsukishima dead panned, fork halfway through cutting into a strawberry shortcake. “You’re a moron.”

“Yes! Yes I am! Thank you  _ soooo _ much for pointing it out!” You sarcastically shot back, jabbing a fork into your own food. “I can really use that advice to my advantage.” You grumbled that time.

Tsukishima rose an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on your bad attitude. “Just talk to him.”

“Okay, easier said than done what about--”

“Talk to him.”

“-- You’re not listening to me--”

“Talk to him.”

“-- Tsukishima, I swear to goodness!” You paused a moment, but when it seemed he would relent, you inhaled and began again. “It’s not that simple. I mean what if--”

“Talk to him.” The smirk Tsukishima wore made you want to slap it off him. “You’re overcomplicating things.”

With a huff, you conceded defeat, choosing to pursue his actual attempt at advice. “Alright. How so?”

“Yamaguchi isn’t complicated.” He answered back swiftly. “If you haven’t noticed, he kind of wears his heart on his sleeve.” The remark was dry, as if implying it was common knowledge.

“I buy you your favorite shortcake and this is the advice you give me?”

Shoveling more cake into his mouth, he shrugged. “I don’t know what you expected.”

“Augh!” You allowed your face to fall to the table with a dull thud. Certainly not enough to hurt you, but enough to express your built up frustrations. Graduation was just around the corner and while you were sure of your feelings for Yamaguchi, you weren’t sure what to do with them.

With an exasperated sigh, Tsukishima set down his fork and looked at your fallen form. “Sit up. You’re making a scene.”

“What if I don’t want to?” The words were mumbled, but you could practically feel the glare the blonde was giving you.

“Yamaguchi obviously likes you.” That got you to raise your head up. “If you’re direct with him, he’ll be direct with you.”

You could never replace what Tsukishima was to Yamaguchi, and you’d never hope to. That being said, you wished you could understand the freckled boy to a similar depth, to know just based on his actions how he felt about someone.  
Maybe even how he felt about you.

 

* * *

“Yamaguchi! Tsukishima! One sec!” You shouted, knowing full well you couldn’t run after them even if you wanted to. Luckily, they heard, and stopped just a matter of feet away from you. With most everyone else, you usually speed-walked to catch up, but with these two in particular, they’d get upset with you for even doing that much. “Thanks!” You greeted them, falling into step.

It was undeniable the awkward energy that had been shoved between Yamaguchi and yourself, but you were determined to push past your anxiety of the situation and make something happen. You were running out of time, after all.

As the three of you neared the gate, Tsukishima shot you a knowing glance and began to pick up the pace. “I’m going to the vending machine. See you in practice.” He lazily supplied when Yamaguchi made a surprised yelp.  
That left Yamaguchi and yourself alone.

“Hey, um…” You began weakly. The words never found their way out after that, though, and you fished for a long while only to come up with nothing. You had no plan going in, which was a bad move.

Yamaguchi only gave you a reassuring smile, however, and took a single step closer as you both made your way to the club room. That smile made you feel all fuzzy, but spurred you on just enough to continue.

“I really like you.” You managed, although your statement came out flat. “And I really… like all of the talks we’ve had… about our future and worries and stuff. An-And I like your face and your freckles and when you had said you weren’t going to forget me, I guess!” Your feet stopped moving a long while ago, but you only consciously noticed in that moment. “I guess it was all too much at once and I couldn’t hold myself back.”

“Oh.” Yamaguchi breathed, eyes widened beyond their usual limits. “I, um, well, I guess I didn’t, uh, really… really expect this first thing in the morning…” He let out an uneasy chuckle, which was arguably a good sign.

“I’m sorry!” Was the next thing out of your mouth. “You don’t have to feel the same! I mean,  _ of course you don’t have to _ , but also, please don’t feel pressured to! I’m so grateful to just be your friend, but I!” You wiped at your eyes, uncertain when tears had began to form. “I just didn’t want… I don’t know, actually where I was going with that.”

Before you knew it, there were arms around you, bringing you in close. “Of course I feel the same.” Yamaguchi’s voice was quiet, and you could feel the way he nestled his head into your hair.

“You do?” You asked in disbelief, but found your own arms rising to wrap around him. “You… like me.” The words felt like fireworks in your heart as you worked to understand their depth.

“Mhm.” Was all Yamaguchi could do to respond, having found his heartbeat too loud in his own ears to form any words. You could feel it, too, against your own skin.

“Gross.” Both of you leapt nearly a foot apart as Tsukishima’s voice had caught you off guard. “Isn’t PDA against the school’s code of conduct?”

“Jeez! For someone so tall, you sure walk quietly!” You shouted in embarrassment. That seemed to amuse Tsukishima as he approached, a coffee in his hands. Well, at least the vending machine side-path had bought you a good portion of time. Not nearly enough in your eyes, but certainly something.

“I’m going on ahead.” He announced, ruffling your hair with his free hand. It was still cold, though, from switching the can between his hands. “Don’t be late, or I’ll let Ennoshita know exactly what you were doing.”

“Oh my gosh, don’t say it like that, you weirdo!” One last retort was all you could get in before he disappeared around the corner and left you alone, yet again. “Well that was the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

“Yeah…” Yamaguchi agreed, but was smiling all the same. You liked his smile, quite a bit. “At least he wasn’t around for--” He stopped without warning, a hand coming to cover his own mouth.

“For what?” You prodded, literally prodding his side with a finger. He jokingly glared, swatting the hand away with barely enough force. “C’monnn, what?”

“For!” He huffed loudly, steeling his nerves before leaning down to place his lips on yours. It was technically your second kiss, but it carried all the emotional warmth of a First.

It made you think back to all the late nights you had shared; of laying down in parks and staring up at the stars as he told you about his childhood, the bullying he had to put up with. And you, in turn, talked about the injury, and how it felt to be constantly moving and leaving friends behind.  
He and Tsukishima had been the first people you trusted with your secret, before anyone knew. For the longest time you weren’t sure why it was them that you chose, but then it hit you sometime after the first year.

Yamaguchi was the most genuine person you had met up to that point. His easy aura and kind heart had you trusting and even understanding Tsukishima.

The kiss went on for awhile more, until you finally pulled away, resting your head against his body. “We shouldn’t be late for practice…” You reminded, although half the words came out as a laugh.

“Right… “ He gently urged you away, holding out his hand for you. “Sh.. shall we?” He asked.

You took his hand in your own, and found that it was a perfect fit.


End file.
